Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems (Final report of DEHEMS project) Edited by: Mateja Melink and Samo Pavlin

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2 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems (Final report of DEHEMS project) Edited by: Mateja Melink and Samo Pavlin Authors, Contributors and Support: Arzu Akkoyunlu Wigley, Sibel Aksu Yildirim, Genc Alimehmeti, Tamara Arutyunyants, Monika Braun, Katharina Chudzikowski, Nevenka Černigoj-Sadar, Paul Demeter, Constanze Engel, Tomasz Gajderowicz, Matej Godnič, Božidar Grigić, Gabriela Grotkowska, Miroljub Ignjatović, Kerstin Janson, Anton Kramberger, Wolfgang Mayrhofer, Mateja Melink, Selda Onderoglu, Angelo Paletta, Samo Pavlin, Katharina Pernkopf-Kohnhäusner, Elena Schimmelpfennig, Bugay Turhan, Daniele Vidoni, Leszek Wincenciak Publisher: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences Proof-read by: Murray Bales Technical editing: Peter Cimprič Cover design: Peter Cimprič Cover photo: Samo Pavlin The report has been prepared within Erasmus project Network for the Development of Higher Education Management Systems (DEHEMS) ; Project Number: LLP SI-ERASMUS-ENWS. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

3 Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge the indispensible support received from all partners in the participating countries. Our thanks go to Ivan Svetlik at the University of Ljubljana, Harald Schomburg and Ulrich Teichler at INCHER Kassel University, Klaus Ruth and Georg Spöttl at ITB Bremen University, Katharina Pernkopf-Konhäusner at WU Vienna University.

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND PURPOSE AND GOALS STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT ADDRESSING GRADUATES CAREER SUCCESS FROM THE HIGHER EDUCATION PERSPECTIVE THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS INTRODUCTION GENERAL THEORIES ON EDUCATION, LABOUR MARKET AND CAREERS Introduction: The Role of HE Institutions in Generating Skills The theory of human capital Education as a signalling device Search and matching theory Skill and individual matching general perspective Education and job matching macroeconomic perspective Employability The concept of professional career and career success The professional career Career success Factors influencing a professional career Non-education-related factors Education-related factors Relevance of career approaches for the DEHEMS project DESIGNING A MODEL OF GRADUATES' CAREER SUCCESS CONSIDERING AND SELECTING PROFESSIONAL DOMAINS FOR THE DEHEMS SURVEY WHAT HE MANAGEMENT SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GRADUATES CAREERS? CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES Strategic planning and resources allocation in higher education management Introduction Performance management system Funding and resources allocation Quality Assurance and Accountability Transparency, academic responsibility, and assessment Accountability and incentive systems Development of perspectives on the HE managerial system in relation to graduates careers Research objectives of the DEHEMS project... 47

5 3 METHODOLOGY ADOPTED IN THE DEHEMS PROJECT INTRODUCTION QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS Datasets The Labour Force Survey as a data source for the analysis of graduates labour market situation The REFLEX/HEGESCO dataset Methods used in the quantitative data analysis Statistical analysis of the LFS data: Graduates labour market situation Statistical analysis of the REFLEX/HEGESCO dataset Econometric analysis of the REFLEX/HEGESCO dataset QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS Data collection Sampling Sampling technique Sample size Interviewee selection strategy in WP Interviewee selection strategy in WP Conducting the interviews Methods used in the qualitative data analysis Coding and summarising individual interviews Supporting tools Project-level analysis CONCLUDING REMARKS DETERMINANTS OF GRADUATES LABOUR MARKET SUCCESS ACROSS DOMAINS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS INTRODUCTION DEPENDENT VARIABLES EXPLANATORY VARIABLES ESTIMATION PROCEDURE REGRESSION RESULTS: A COMPARATIVE APPROACH Sociobiographic characteristics Job satisfaction Other labour market success factors Study process characteristics Job satisfaction Other labour market success factors Study programme characteristics Job satisfaction Other labour market success factors Teaching modes Job satisfaction Other labour market success factors Personal attitude Job satisfaction Other labour market success factors International mobility experience Job satisfaction Other labour market success factors Experience with work... 79

6 Job satisfaction Other labour market success factors Current job characteristics Job satisfaction Other labour market success factors GRADUATES LABOUR MARKET SITUATION ACCORDING TO THE LFS: A CROSS- DOMAIN COMPARISON CONCLUSIONS REVIEW OF PROFESSIONAL DOMAINS AND ANALYSIS OF PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS OF THE GRADUATES BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS Introduction Statistical description of graduates Number of students and graduates Students by gender International students PhD students Family Background Parents education Children Mobility Study provisions and conditions Higher education institutions General description and duration Number of more specialised study programmes vs. the freedom to choose one s own special interest within a single programme Teaching and learning modes Formal general curricula elements Practical training period during studies Foreign languages Thesis Transition to employment and first job Certification Job Satisfaction Important stakeholders Lifelong learning Higher Education Management Perspectives on Graduates Professional Careers Synthesis of the DEHEMS Interviews Understanding of career success Short- versus long-term success Adequate employment of professional skills Knowledge of the professional orientation of the graduates How should HE management take the future professional activities of graduates into account? The relevance of graduates future activities for curricula design and Bachelor and Master curriculums relationship to market needs Issues in tailoring curricula to market needs HEI actions to support graduates transition to the market and their professional career Making curricula more flexible: Rigid and flexible systems The stress on international orientation varies from country to country

7 The practical orientation of the study programmes is highly stressed activities so as to enhance graduates transition to the labour market The inclusion of students in research not only enhances their methodological skills but increases opportunities for their future employment A limited focus on innovative teaching and learning modes Forging relationships between HEIs and stakeholders vacant jobs Career centres: Shifts from best practices to failed attempts Future developmental needs The centrality of the follow-up surveys (tracer studies) Uncertainty on the future development of innovative teaching modes Limiting the number of students in a class The question of the future development of career centres remains open Conclusion EDUCATION AND TEACHING STUDIES Introduction Statistical overview of the domain Number of graduates Gender distribution Parents education Mobility Study provisions and conditions Programme particularities Teaching and learning modes National characteristics of practical training Transition to employment and the first job Transition to employment Certification Characteristics of jobs Lifelong Learning National characteristics of lifelong learning Higher education management perspectives on graduates professional careers synthesis of the DEHEMS interviews Understanding career success Finding a matching job is the most important career success characteristic Developed competencies in quality teaching and lifelong learning Job satisfaction Academics knowledge about their graduates careers The role of HEIs in the future professional activities of graduates Practical training is a major factor in preparing graduates for work Empowering lifelong learning and soft skills Supporting internationality Other issues: cooperation with stakeholders, career centres, research activities, and quality assurance Developmental needs Strengthening relations with stakeholders Internationalisation of programmes Further development of practical work and problem-based learning Autonomy within curricula for regular updating according to current student needs Lifelong learning has been stressed, especially in Turkey Career counselling Conclusion ENGINEERING Introduction

8 5.3.2 Statistical overview of the domain Number of graduates Subdomain structure Gender distribution Further information on socio-biographic backgrounds (REFLEX and HEGESCO data) International students Study conditions and provisions Study programmes Number of enrolled students Number of graduates and PhD Mobility Number of study programmes offered Learning and teaching modes Impact of the Bologna reform Transition to employment and first job Certification Data on transition to the labour market and characteristics of the first job Lifelong learning Regulation of lifelong learning Selected data from the HEGESCO and REFLEX projects Higher education management perspectives on graduates' professional careers synthesis of the DEHEMS interviews Introduction: graduates have good opportunities to obtain adequate jobs Understanding of career success Professional success is defined by personal experience A diverse professional focus of graduates Job satisfaction and the education-work match Other insights The role of HEIs in the future professional activities of graduates Generating flexible graduates International orientation Practical orientation, cooperation with industry and internship are central tools for enhancing graduates employability skills Research activities are important for multiple aspects in relation to the labour market Recruitment services and career counselling Contacts with former graduates Student-centred teaching fosters soft skills Developmental needs Conclusion MEDICINE Introduction Statistical overview Number of graduates Subdomain structure Gender Distribution Family Background Student Mobility Study provisions and conditions Programme Characteristics Teaching and Learning Modes Impact of the Bologna Process in DEHEMS Countries Transition to employment and first job

9 Certification Search duration Lifelong learning Higher education management perspectives on graduates professional careers synthesis of the DEHEMS interviews Understanding of career success Diversification of views Success depends on finding the proper path within the domain A successful graduate deals well with several stakeholders The role of HEIs in the future professional activities of graduates The clear mission of HEIs in this domain is to cultivate a good doctor Enhancing the traditional focus of the medicine programme The need to further develop an international orientation The importance of a practical orientation: practical experience in medicine is the main component of the profession and is inseparable from theory Despite budget cuts, research for students can best be conducted in university hospitals Limited co-operation with private employers especially in this field Future developmental needs Increase curriculum interdisciplinarity and flexibility within the existing tradition Increasing graduates scientific skills and social competencies Introduction of new teaching methods and continuing medical education Persisting allocation of funding: reducing the number of students or increasing resources Conclusion SCIENCE Introduction Socio-demographic statistical overview Number of graduates Subdomain structure Gender Family background International students PhD graduates Study conditions and provisions Impact of the Bologna Process Transition to employment and characteristics of the first job Search duration for first jobs Search methods Education as a basis for starting work Characteristics of the first job Current labour market status Lifelong learning Higher education management perspectives on graduates professional careers synthesis of the DEHEMS interviews Understanding of professional success Professional success varieties of understandings Following graduates career paths is rarely formalised There is no general occupational destination of science graduates The role of HEIs for the future professional activities of graduates Study programmes are not very oriented to labour market requirements International orientation is an important trait of this domain Teaching modes combine practical and theoretical approaches Practical orientation and apprenticeships are only relevant in some domains

10 Research projects play an important role in fostering student research potential Higher education support activities Higher Education Developmental needs for improving graduates employability Closer and more intensive cooperation with employers and high quality apprenticeships A closer and more individualised relationship between professors and students strengthens soft skills Quality of education and internationalisation with fewer financial resources? Problem of secondary school leavers competencies Diversification of HE models in the domain of Science Conclusion SOCIOLOGY AND POLITICAL STUDIES Introduction Statistical overview Number of graduates Gender Study conditions and provisions National characteristics of study programmes Teaching and learning modes Impact of the Bologna Process Transition to employment and characteristics of the first job Search duration Search methods Education as a basis for starting work Characteristics of the first job Lifelong learning Higher education management perspectives on graduates professional careers a synthesis of the DEHEMS interviews Understanding career success Flexibility Job satisfaction Matching the study programme and the professional destination Others Professional orientation of the graduates The role of HEIs for graduates future professional activities Broadness of the study programmes of sociology and political science Implementation of new teaching modes including practical training Employers role in the implementation of study programmes Supporting internationalisation Inclusion of research activities Other issues raised Developmental needs Cooperation with stakeholders Career Centres Improving curricula Lifelong Learning Other Conclusion THE EMPLOYABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT OF HE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS INTRODUCTION RESPONDENTS AND QUESTIONS

11 6.3 THE CONTEXT OF EMPLOYABILITY DATA UTILISATION: THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HE PROGRAMMES UTILISATION OF THE EMPIRICAL FINDINGS ON EMPLOYABILITY THE PERSPECTIVES OF HE MANAGERS AND POLICY-MAKERS Contemporary use of employability data in the implementation of HE programmes Description of concrete actions to consider the evidence Impact of the employability data on HE activities Future developments of links between the labour market and the HE curriculum EMPLOYERS POSITION ON THE ROLE OF HE INSTITUTION IN PREPARING GRADUATES FOR WORK Employers position on the role of HE institution in preparing graduates for work A better match between the demand and supply of jobs and better qualifications The centrality of work experiences Focusing to soft skills More coherent and formalised collaboration with HE institutions Employers position on utilisation of hard evidence of graduates employability TRADE UNIONS POSITION ON THE ROLE OF HE INSTITUTION IN PREPARING GRADUATES FOR WORK Trade unions position on the role of HE institution in preparing graduates for work Trade unions position on utilisation of hard evidence of graduates employability STUDENT ORGANISATIONS POSITION ON THE ROLE OF HE INSTITUTION IN PREPARING GRADUATES FOR WORK Students concerns on the role of HE institutions in preparing graduates for work Awarenes on utilisation of hard data on graduates employment CONCLUSION CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS INTRODUCTION DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES AMONG THE HE STUDY FIELDS DETERMINANTS AND DIMENSIONS OF HE GRADUATES CAREER SUCCESS, AND HE EXPERTS PERCEPTIONS OF THEM Academics are generally aware of only a few career success dimensions In most countries, empirical data on graduates employability receive little attention from HE institutions and HE governance THE VIEW OF ACADEMICS ON THE HE INSTITUTION S ROLE IN SUPPORTING HE GRADUATES IN ENTERING THE LABOUR MARKET POSITION OF EMPLOYERS, TRADE UNIONS AND STUDENTS ON THE LINK BETWEEN HE SYSTEMS AND THE WORLD OF WORK Employers perspectives Trade unions Student organisations REFERENCES

12 LIST OF TABLES TABLE 2.1: FOUR CATEGORIES OF CAREER SUCCESS CRITERIA TABLE 2.2: CONCEPTUAL PROPOSAL WITHIN THE DEHEMS PROJECT TABLE 2.3: TYPES OF HE STUDY DOMAINS TABLE 3.1: STRUCTURE OF THE 2008 LFS SAMPLE USED FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE GRADUATE POPULATION TABLE 3.2:STRUCTURE OF THE REFLEX/HEGESCO SUBSAMPLE USED FOR THE STATISTICAL AND ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS TABLE 3.3:NUMBER OF INTERVIEWS AMONG INDIVIDUALS FROM HEIS BY DOMAIN AND BY COUNTRY TABLE 3.4: NUMBER OF INTERVIEWS AMONG HE STAKEHOLDERS BY EXPERT TYPE AND BY COUNTRY TABLE 4.1: THE COMPONENTS OF LABOUR MARKET SUCCESS TABLE 4.2: GRADUATE POPULATION IN THE LFS BY DOMAIN OF STUDY: LABOUR MARKET STATUS TABLE 4.3: EMPLOYED GRADUATE POPULATION IN THE LFS BY DOMAIN OF STUDY: KEY CHARACTERISTICS TABLE 4.4: UNEMPLOYED GRADUATE POPULATION IN THE LFS BY DOMAIN OF STUDY: KEY CHARACTERISTICS TABLE 4.5: TYPOLOGY OF STUDY DOMAINS ACCORDING TO THE DETERMINANTS OF LABOUR MARKET SUCCESS TABLE 4.6: CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDY DOMAIN CLUSTERS TABLE 5.1: NUMBERS OF STUDENTS AND GRADUATES IN THE DOMAIN OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS IN DEHEMS COUNTRIES TABLE 5.2: NUMBER OF GRADUATES OF THE BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS FIELD TABLE 5.3: NUMBER OF STUDENTS AND GRADUATES, SHARES OF FEMALE AND FOREIGN STUDENTS IN THE BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS DOMAIN IN DEHEMS COUNTRIES TABLE 5.4: NUMBERS OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND STUDIES OFFERED IN THE BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS DOMAIN IN DEHEMS COUNTRIES TABLE 5.5: AVERAGE SCORE OF ASSESSMENTS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING MODES IN THE BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS DOMAIN (MEAN OF POSSIBLE ANSWERS RANGED FROM 1 TO 5- SEE REFLEX/HEGESCO QUESTIONNAIRE) TABLE 5.6: OCCUPATIONS OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS GRADUATES (IN PERCENT) TABLE 5.7: SEARCH DURATION OF GRADUATES IN THE FIELD OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS TABLE 5.8: WAYS GRADUATES IN THE FIELD OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS FIND WORK TABLE 5.9: STUDY PROGRAMME AS A BASIS FOR STARTING WORK: BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.10: TYPE OF CONTRACT IN THE FIRST JOB: BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.11: HOURS OF WORK PER WEEK IN THE FIRST JOB: BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS TABLE 5.12: UTILISED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IN CURRENT WORK: BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.13: STUDY PROGRAMME AS A GOOD BASIS FOR FURTHER LEARNING ON THE JOB: BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.14: WORK-RELATED TRAINING/COURSE IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS IN THE FIRST JOB: BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.15: NUMBERS OF GRADUATES IN THE EDUCATION FIELD

13 TABLE 5.16: HIGHEST EDUCATION OF FATHER AND MOTHER BY COUNTRY FOR GRADUATES OF THE EDUCATION AND TEACHING STUDIES (IN PERCENT) TABLE 5.17: AVERAGE SCORE OF ASSESSMENTS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS IN THE EDUCATION DOMAIN (MEAN OF POSSIBLE ANSWERS RANGED FROM 1 TO 5- SEE REFLEX/HEGESCO QUESTIONNAIRE) TABLE 5.18: SEARCH DURATION OF GRADUATES IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION AND TEACHING STUDIES TABLE 5.19: STUDY PROGRAMME AS A BASIS FOR STARTING WORK: EDUCATION VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.20: GRADUATES WAYS OF FINDING WORK IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION TABLE 5.21: OCCUPATIONS OF EDUCATION GRADUATES (IN PERCENT) TABLE 5.22: TYPE OF CONTRACT IN THE FIRST JOB: EDUCATION VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.23: UTILISED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IN CURRENT WORK: EDUCATION VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.24: WORK-RELATED TRAINING/COURSE IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS IN THE FIRST JOB: EDUCATION VS. DOMAIN TABLE 5.25: STUDY PROGRAMME AS A GOOD BASIS FOR FURTHER LEARNING ON THE JOB: EDUCATION VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.26: NUMBER OF GRADUATES IN THE ENGINEERING FIELD TABLE 5.27: MAIN STUDY PROGRAMMES IN FIVE DEHEMS COUNTRIES TABLE 5.28: NUMBER OF GRADUATES IN THE HEALTH AND WELFARE FIELD (MEDICINE) TABLE 5.29: AVERAGE SCORE OF ASSESSMENTS OF STUDY PROGRAMME CHARACTERISTICS IN THE MEDICINE DOMAIN (MEAN OF POSSIBLE ANSWERS RANGED FROM 1 TO 5- SEE REFLEX/HEGESCO QUESTIONNAIRE) TABLE 5.30: SEARCH DURATION OF GRADUATES IN THE FIELD OF MEDICINE TABLE 5.31: WAYS GRADUATES FIND WORK IN THE FIELD OF MEDICINE TABLE 5.32: STUDY PROGRAMME AS A BASIS FOR STARTING WORK: MEDICINE VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.33: UTILISED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IN CURRENT WORK: MEDICINE VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.34: STUDY PROGRAMME AS A GOOD BASIS FOR FURTHER LEARNING ON THE JOB: MEDICINE VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.35: WORK-RELATED TRAINING/COURSE IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS IN THE FIRST JOB: MEDICINE VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.36: NUMBER OF GRADUATES IN THE SCIENCE DOMAIN TABLE 5.37: HIGHEST EDUCATION OF FATHER AND MOTHER BY COUNTRY FOR GRADUATES OF THE SCIENCE DOMAIN(IN PERCENT) TABLE 5.38: GRADUATES OF SCIENCE DOMAIN BY FAMILY BACKGROUND (IN PERCENT) TABLE 5.39: DISTRIBUTION OF INTERNATIONAL/FOREIGN STUDENTS BY FIELD OF STUDY (IN PERCENT) TABLE 5.40: NUMBER OF PH.D. GRADUATES IN THE SCIENCE DOMAIN (IN PERCENT) TABLE 5.41: AVERAGE SCORE OF THE ASSESSMENTS OF STUDY PROGRAMMES CHARACTERISTICS AND TEACHING AND LEARNING MODES IN SCIENCE DOMAIN (MEAN OF POSSIBLE ANSWERS RANGED FROM 1 TO 5- SEE REFLEX/HEGESCO QUESTIONNAIRE) TABLE 5.42: STUDENTS IN THE DOMAIN OF SCIENCE BY TYPE OF DEGREE*(IN PERCENT) TABLE 5.43: STUDENTS MOBILITY IN THE DOMAIN OF SCIENCE TABLE 5.44: SEARCH DURATION OF GRADUATES IN THE FIELD OF SCIENCE TABLE 5.45: WAY OF FINDING WORK BY GRADUATES IN THE FIELD OF SCIENCE TABLE 5.46: STUDY PROGRAMME AS A BASIS FOR STARTING WORK: SCIENCE VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.47: OCCUPATIONS OF SCIENCE GRADUATES, ISCO 2-DIGIT LEVEL (IN PERCENT)

14 TABLE 5.48: TYPE OF CONTRACT IN THE FIRST JOB: SCIENCE VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.49: HOURS OF WORK PER WEEK IN THE FIRST JOB: SCIENCE VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.50: DISTRIBUTION OF GROSS HOURLY EARNINGS IN THE FIRST JOB: SCIENCE VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.51: UTILIZED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IN CURRENT WORK: SCIENCE VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.52: LABOUR MARKET STATUS: SCIENCE VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.53: LABOUR MARKET STATUS OF SCIENCE GRADUATES(IN PERCENT) TABLE 5.54: STUDY PROGRAMME AS A GOOD BASIS FOR FURTHER LEARNING ON THE JOB: SCIENCE VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.55: WORK-RELATED TRAINING/COURSE IN PAST 12 MONTHS IN THE FIRST JOB: SCIENCE VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.56: SCIENCE SUBDOMAINS BY CHARACTERISTICS OF HEIS APPROACH TO ENHANCING GRADUATES EMPLOYABILITY TABLE 5.57: NUMBER OF GRADUATES IN SOCIAL AND BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE FIELD TABLE 5.60: AVERAGE SCORE OF THE ASSESSMENTS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING MODES IN SOCIOLOGY DOMAIN TABLE 5.61: OCCUPATIONS OF SOCIOLOGY GRADUATES, ISCO 2-DIGIT LEVEL (IN PERCENT) TABLE 5.62: SEARCH DURATION OF GRADUATES IN THE FIELD OF SOCIOLOGY TABLE 5.63: WAY OF FINDING WORK BY GRADUATES IN THE FIELD OF SOCIOLOGY TABLE 5.64: STUDY PROGRAMME AS A BASIS FOR STARTING WORK: SOCIOLOGY VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.65: TYPE OF CONTRACT IN THE FIRST JOB: SOCIOLOGY VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.66: UTILIZED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IN CURRENT WORK: SOCIOLOGY VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.67: STUDY PROGRAMME AS A GOOD BASIS FOR FURTHER LEARNING ON THE JOB: SOCIOLOGY VS. ALL DOMAINS TABLE 5.68: WORK-RELATED TRAINING/COURSE IN PAST 12 MONTHS IN THE FIRST JOB: SOCIOLOGY VS. DOMAIN

15 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 2.1: LABOUR MARKET FLOWS AND INTERDEPENDENCIES BETWEEN LABOUR DEMAND AND SUPPLY 26 FIGURE 2.2: LAYERS OF INFLUENCING FACTORS ON CAREERS (MAYRHOFER, MEYER, & STEYRER, 2005: 16) 30 FIGURE 2.3: TRANSITION FROM EDUCATION TO THE WORLD OF WORK A SYSTEM-LEVEL COMPARISON 36 FIGURE 2.4: CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF CAREER SUCCESS 37 FIGURE 2.5: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR STUDYING HE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND GRADUATES EMPLOYABILITY 46 FIGURE 3.1: AN OUTLINE OF THE METHODOLOGY OF THE DEHEMS PROJECT 51 FIGURE 4.1: HISTOGRAMS OF SIX INDEX VARIABLES OF LABOUR MARKET SUCCESS 69 FIGURE 4.2: MODELLING LABOUR MARKET SUCCESS IN THE DEHEMS PROJECT 72 FIGURE 5.1: SHARES OF GRADUATES WHOSE FATHER S HIGHEST EDUCATION IS ISCED 5+6 (TERTIARY EDUCATION) 92 FIGURE 5.2: SHARES OF GRADUATES WHOSE MOTHER S HIGHEST EDUCATION IS ISCED 5+6 (TERTIARY EDUCATION) 92 FIGURE 5.3: SHARES OF GRADUATES WHO SPENT TIME ABROAD DURING HIGHER EDUCATION TO STUDY 94 FIGURE 5.4: SHARES OF GRADUATES WHO HELD A POSITION IN A STUDENT OR OTHER VOLUNTARY ORGANISATION DURING THEIR TIME IN HIGHER EDUCATION 94 FIGURE 5.5: BROAD FOCUS OF THE STUDY PROGRAMME, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 97 FIGURE 5.6: FREEDOM IN COMPOSING ONE S OWN STUDY PROGRAMME, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 97 FIGURE 5.7: RATING OF HOW DEMANDING THE STUDY PROGRAMMES WAS, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 98 FIGURE 5.8: EMPLOYERS FAMILIARITY WITH THE CONTENT OF THE STUDY PROGRAMME, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 98 FIGURE 5.9: STUDY-RELATED WORK EXPERIENCES DURING STUDY, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 100 FIGURE 5.10 : SATISFACTION WITH CURRENT WORK, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 106 FIGURE 5.11: WORD TREE RELATION FOR INTERNATIONALISATION 117 FIGURE 5.12: RATIO OF MALES AND FEMALES IN EDUCATION AND TEACHING STUDIES 125 FIGURE 5.13: SPENDING TIME ABROAD DURING HIGHER EDUCATION FOR STUDY, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 127 FIGURE 5.14: BROAD FOCUS OF STUDY PROGRAMME, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 128 FIGURE 5.15: STUDY-RELATED WORK EXPERIENCES DURING STUDY, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 132 FIGURE 5.16: PARTICIPATION IN ONE OR MORE WORK PLACEMENTS/INTERNSHIPS AS PART OF THE STUDY PROGRAMME, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 133 FIGURE 5.17: STUDY PROGRAMME AS A GOOD BASIS FOR STARTING WORK, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 135 FIGURE 5.18: WORK IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 142 FIGURE 5.19: SATISFACTION WITH CURRENT WORK, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 143 FIGURE 5.20: MORE DEMANDING WORK THAN THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS POSSESSED, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 143 FIGURE 5.21: FOLLOWING ANY WORK-RELATED TRAINING/COURSE IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 144

16 FIGURE 5.22: STRUCTURE OF THE ENGINEERING DOMAIN GRADUATES BROKEN DOWN BY SUBDOMAINS 158 FIGURE 5.23: DEGREE OF FEMINISATION OF THE ENGINEERING DOMAIN 160 FIGURE 5.24: EMPHASIS ON GROUP ASSIGNMENTS, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 166 FIGURE 5.25: EMPHASIS ON PROJECT AND PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 166 FIGURE 5.26: STUDY-RELATED WORK EXPERIENCES DURING STUDY, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 167 FIGURE 5.27: PARTICIPATION IN ONE OR MORE WORK PLACEMENTS/INTERNSHIPS AS PART OF THE STUDY PROGRAMME, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 168 FIGURE 5.28: STUDY PROGRAMME AS A GOOD BASIS FOR STARTING WORK, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 173 FIGURE 5.29: STUDY PROGRAMME AS A GOOD BASIS FOR FURTHER LEARNING ON THE JOB, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 174 FIGURE 5.30: OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN NEW THINGS, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 175 FIGURE 5.31: STRUCTURE OF THE HEALTH DOMAIN (MEDICINE) GRADUATES BROKEN DOWN BY SUBDOMAINS 190 FIGURE 5.32: DEGREE OF FEMINISATION OF THE MEDICINE DOMAIN 191 FIGURE 5.33: STUDY-RELATED WORK EXPERIENCES DURING STUDY, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 193 FIGURE 5.34: ACADEMIC PRESTIGE OF THE STUDY PROGRAMME, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 194 FIGURE 5.35: VOCATIONAL ORIENTATION OF THE STUDY PROGRAMME, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 194 FIGURE 5.36: EMPHASIS ON GROUP ASSIGNMENTS, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 197 FIGURE 5.37: EMPHASIS ON WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 197 FIGURE 5.38: SATISFACTION WITH CURRENT WORK, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 207 FIGURE 5.39: GOOD CAREER PROSPECTS, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 208 FIGURE 5.40: HIGH JOB SECURITY, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 208 FIGURE 5.41: STRUCTURE OF THE SCIENCE DOMAIN GRADUATES BROKEN DOWN BY SUBDOMAINS 221 FIGURE 5.42: DEGREE OF FEMINIZATION OF THE SCIENCE DOMAIN 222 FIGURE 5.43: STUDY PROGRAMME AS A BASIS FOR STARTING WORK, BY COUNTRY (IN PERCENT) 231 FIGURE 5.44: DISTRIBUTION OF GROSS HOURLY WAGES (BY COUNTRIES, ADJUSTED FOR PPP) 235 FIGURE 5.45: UTILIZED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IN CURRENT WORK, BY COUNTRY (IN PER CENT) 236 FIGURE 5.46: STUDY PROGRAMME A GOOD BASIS FOR FURTHER LEARNING ON THE JOB, BY COUNTRY (IN PER CENT) 238 FIGURE 5.47: FOLLOWING ANY WORK-RELATED TRAINING/COURSE IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS, BY COUNTRY (IN PER CENT) 239 FIGURE 5.48: DEGREE OF FEMINIZATION OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES, BUSINESS AND LAW DOMAIN 252

17 Introduction Samo Pavlin, Mateja Melink * 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND Over the last decade those concerned with education and employment have been increasingly seeking evidence of how levels of educational attainment characterise individuals' performances in the labour market. Enhancing the short- and long-term employability potential of young people has become a central developmental priority in the European Higher Education Area (EC, 2011). According to findings of the HEGESCO project (2009), employers still have surprisingly little knowledge of what to expect from graduates, and higher education institutions (HEIs) have a similar low level of knowledge of what employers need. Both aspects are directly linked to strategic issues of enhancing graduates employability as they improve the quality, governance and societal relevance of higher education, and provide backing for reforms via policy-evidence-based analysis, and support flagship EU initiatives such as Youth on the Move, aiming to increase young people s chances of finding a job, and Agenda for New Skills and Jobs, seeking to improve skill and education matches. These challenges open up several general questions regarding the future development of higher education: how to balance general and professionally specific subjects and their complementarities, what should be the practical scope of teaching and learning modes or how should HEIs collaborate with employers and get involved with apprenticeships, and how should they validate non-formal learning experiences. Several European actions such as TUNING Educational Structures in Europe 1, Careers after Higher Education (CHEERS) 2, Flexible Professional in the Knowledge Society (REFLEX) 3 or Higher Education as a Generator of Strategic Competences (HEGESCO) 4 have sought answers to these questions by comparing graduates in their transition from education to the world of work in a country-comparative fashion. One of the key conceptual issues in these projects was to learn about the relative impact of higher education programmes on acquired competencies and professional success. Since then, indicators of graduates transition and early career success have been attracting ever more attention on the policy agenda, accompanied by international surveys such as Education at a Glance (OECD, 2010) or the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (OECD, 2011-). The prevailing motive for these attempts is based on the assumption that acquiring a high level of employability-related competencies is the most desirable result of the higher education system. In this way, the empirical findings from graduate surveys related to career success and the evaluation of HE programmes are expected to hold strong potential for demystifying the real contribution HEIs make to graduates professional work either by way of generating new knowledge (i.e. the push principle) or providing skills (i.e. the pull principle adjusting graduates to suit employers needs). The HEGESCO report (Allen et al., 2009), for example, produced several premises for how policy-makers, HEIs, employers and graduates can in general terms foster the development of key competencies. * Support: Nevenka Černigoj Sadar, Matej Godnič, Miroljub Ignjatović, Anton Kramberger

18 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project These graduate career surveys all confirmed that the determinants of professional knowledge, along with general competencies, are not exclusively linked to educational curricula per se but also to work experience, family backgrounds and general societal trends. Moreover, when looking at the jobs held by higher education graduates the key question is not always if they get jobs but why (Brennan & Little, 2009: 101): it is less about the characteristics of the jobs (wages, status, employment sector) and more about what it is that graduates bring to them their knowledge, competences and dispositions. This issue varies significantly among fields of study and, accordingly, among the models of career success. Moreover, and as usually stressed by international comparative surveys, the varieties of professional domains, practical knowledge and training differ not only in their scope but also in their kind (e.g. Abbott, 1988; Burrage & Torstendahl, 1990). The general recommendation found in international surveys to foster the acquisition of competencies such as the need to obtain relevant work experience during higher education, to make higher education more demanding, to forge links with employers, promote HE programmes and establish the link between HE and the world of work, to question problem-based learning etc. might lead to contradictions once applied to a particular field of study. As the final result of the DEHEMS project (short for: Network for the Development of Higher Education Management Systems), this report, builds and complements these premises on the basis of over 360 interviews in six European countries (Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Turkey) conducted in the project, and as well as an analysis of earlier European graduate surveys and other data. All of the results have been included on the project webpage and discussed at two large international conferences in Vienna and Ljubljana PURPOSE AND GOALS One of the current policy concerns arsing in the midst of HE developments and implementation of the Bologna Process is the employability of graduates. There is a particular stress on the issue of whether higher education systems are expected to produce readymade skills, or if they should be oriented to preparing graduates for a lifelong career. The assumption in the first option relates to an increase in the practical content of subjects, the applied notion of learning and teaching, and cooperation with employers over theory and classical ex-cathedra learning. Further, in line with several EC policy actions, the REFLEX and HEGESCO projects put a great accent on questions such as what are the key competencies graduates need to function well in the workplace and in society?, which actors are mainly responsible for competence development?, how well do graduates competencies measure up in the world of work?, or what path should higher education systems follow to foster the development of competencies?. The DEHEMS report aims to build upon these issues. It seeks to construct a knowledge platform that specifically addresses the method of optimising the performance and quality assurance of HE systems in the area of graduates early career success development. In this way, it seeks to identify general patterns of understanding and enhancing career success, with particular attention to these professional domains: - business and economics; - education and teaching; - engineering;

19 Introduction - science; - medicine; and - sociology and political studies. The DECOWE event (2012-) 6 already opened the issue of what we know about successful measures (higher) education institutions are taking and what is the actual role played by graduates employability evidence in the management of HEIs, and how do and should (higher) education institutions make use of this information. These questions are being considered as an important starting point of the DEHEMS project and report. It addresses the needs and responsibilities of HE systems to support graduates careers. The findings and recommendations hold great relevance for the organisation of HE curricula, teaching practices, cooperation with enterprises and students apprenticeships, integration of research activities into curricula, universities career centres and the organisation of HE practicums. Hence, the DEHEMS project s main conceptual goal is to link the determinants and dimensions of graduates career success in the selected professional domains and fields of study with the expectations, practices and future challenges of HE institutions. The report therefore explores how much HE management systems are evidence-driven, and addresses the following key questions: First, what is the overall idea of HE institutions and management about how their studies take the future professional activities of their graduates into account? Second, what are higher education management systems doing to successfully and systematically help graduates make the transition to work? Third, where do higher education managers and academics see the biggest developmental needs? Fourth, do teaching modes have any impact on the successful employment and work of graduates? What role do practical and international experiences play in graduates employability? Fifth, what is the role of employment-related guidance services in a successful transition to the labour market? Sixth, do practically-oriented studies prepare graduates better for work than scientifically-oriented study programmes? Seventh, which are differences and similarities among the countries and professional domains? The methodological steps taken when pursuing answers to these issues are in the following order: conceptualisation of the theoretical and methodological framework and elaboration of the professional domain approach, analysis of international graduates databases, the completion and analysis of the 360 interviews and integration of the results into the final report

20 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project 1.3 STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT Chapter 2 provides the theoretical and conceptual background. It focuses on general theories on education, labour market and careers with an emphasis on the theory of human capital, matching theory, and the macroeconomic perspective on education and job matching. It also describes the concepts of employability, professional career and career success. The theoretical and conceptual frameworks are followed by a subchapter on designing a model of graduates' career success which is also applied to the professional domain sections in Chapters 5 and 6. These professional domains are: business and economics, education and teaching studies, engineering, medicine, science, and sociology and political science. Chapter 3 describes the methodology adopted in the DEHEMS project. The chapter is divided into two parts: a description of the quantitative analysis and a description of the qualitative analysis. The quantitative analysis was carried out using three different data sources on graduates and their professional careers: OECD Education Statistics, the Labour Force Survey which was chiefly used when analysing graduates' labour market situation, and the REFLEX/HEGESCO data set. The second part of the chapter a description of the qualitative analysis presents the collecting, conducting and analysis of in-depth semistructured interviews made among individuals from HE institutions and other stakeholders (employers, trade unions, policy-makers etc.). The main purpose of Chapter 4 is to provide the results on the determinants of graduates' labour market success across the different study domains with the goal of ascertaining similarities and differences among them. The analysis defines the dependent and explanatory variables that were determined on the basis of theoretical considerations and the data availability and sets out the results of job satisfaction and other labour market success factors from different perspectives. Chapter 5 aims to further portray and elaborate the six professional domains identified through the theoretical and conceptual frameworks (Chapter 2). Each subchapter is devoted to one professional domain and describes study programmes and graduates, study provisions and conditions (including teaching modes, practical training etc.) and the transition to employment on the basis of national reports from the countries included in the DEHEMS project. A special emphasis in the chapter is given to the analysis of the interviews conducted among HE management representatives about graduates professional careers. Chapter 6 complements the issues raised in previous chapters, especially in the interviews with HE management (see Chapter 5). The chapter provides a qualitative analysis of the interviews among higher education stakeholders HE policy-makers, employers, trade unions and student organisations on the role of higher education institutions in preparing graduates for work and the utilisation of hard evidence of graduates employability. The main conclusions are outlined in the final chapter. 19

21 Addressing Graduates Career Success from the Higher Education Perspective Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks Samo Pavlin, Leszek Wincenciak, Gabriela Grotkowska, Paul Demeter, Wolfgang Mayrhofer, Katharina Chudzikowski, Ivan Svetlik, Angelo Paletta and Daniele Vidoni * 7 2 ADDRESSING GRADUATES CAREER SUCCESS FROM THE HIGHER EDUCATION PERSPECTIVE THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS 2.1 INTRODUCTION This section addresses those theoretical frameworks identified by the DEHEMS consortium as the most relevant for surveying HE systems and the early transition of HE graduates from education to work. The chapter comprises the following sections. We start by presenting the general theories on education and the labour market which are particularly relevant for explaining the relationship between HE institutions, skill generation and graduates careers. We start the chapter by presenting the key theories of human capital, credential theories, and search and matching theories from the general and macro perspectives. The section continues with a short general overview of HE graduates employability studies. Later, we present the concepts of professional career and career success. From the perspective of general theories on the link between education and work, we identify the factors influencing a professional career, distinguishing between non-educational and educational factors. On this basis, we proceed to designing our own model of graduates career success that is later applied to the qualitative and quantitative analyses. Finally, we introduce a question that until recently has not been discussed in relation to HE graduates early careers: What HE management should know about graduates careers?. As background information, we provide an overview of strategic planning and resource allocation in HE management and then on quality assurance and accountability. An implicit question here is what do changes in HE graduates employment have to do with HE system financing and standards. 2.2 GENERAL THEORIES ON EDUCATION, LABOUR MARKET AND CAREERS Introduction: The Role of HE Institutions in Generating Skills The roles and functions of education institutions in society have been surveyed for a long time. While the positive effects on socio-economic outcomes are empirically proven (e.g. see the OECD s publication Education at a Glance), higher education s contribution to the development of domain-specific professional skills is more in question. Moreover, general results of the HEGESCO project (Allen et al., 2009) question what matters more: students acquisition of work experience during their higher education and life in general as opposed to the requirements of higher education institutions. * Support: Nevenka Černigoj Sadar, Matej Godnič, Miroljub Ignjatović, Anton Kramberger 20

22 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project The issue of the extent to which higher education institutions contribute to the development of professional expertise is explained differently by human capital than credentialist theories. Human capital theory says that the education system guarantees a more productive workforce, greater salaries and higher GDP (Schultz, 1961; Becker, 1962). Therefore, the professional benefits the individual acquires in the education system are obvious. Thurow (1975) did not agree. He claimed that productivity depends more on the workplace itself than on the personal characteristics of the individual and their education. Along these lines, signal theory (Spence, 1974) reduces the function of individual education to a signal function reporting the adaptability of the job-seeker to employers: job-seekers with a higher education are presumably more adaptive, more motivated and have greater learning abilities. Certificate theory (Collins, 1979) took a step further. It advocates that the education system plays a role of regulating access to the labour market. Some of these are discussed in more detail in the next sections. The functional role of higher education institutions in preparing graduates for work has largely also been discussed in the field of the sociology of professions. A controversial role becomes particularly clear when comparing early functionalist approaches (Durkheim, 1957[ ], Parsons, 1954) with criticism of ideologist claims (e.g. Larson, 1977). While earlier claims are in line with human capital theories and describe higher education institutions as generators of professional skills, critics have argued that professionally driven educational institutions are a reproductive apparatus that in different ways guarantee monopoly and selection over more privileged work. The implicit base of the analysis is defined by keywords such as professional power or the project of professionalization (Macdonald, 1995). In spite of such controversial views, most scholars today agree that the education system positively impacts the development of individuals competencies for the labour market. However, the question concerning the scope of this impact remains open, especially when compared with other factors such as social background, gender, ethnic affiliation, external and internal sensitivity to work motivation and other environmental factors The theory of human capital In the economic perspective, according to the theory of human capital education and training are treated as an investment process which generates a future flow of income. Investment in education is assumed to exert a positive impact on workers productivity and in turn on their income (wages). Apart from these benefits, investing in human capital also incurs costs. These costs can take the form of the expenses of studying (fees, costs of accommodation and travel etc.), but also include opportunity cost, that is from the loss of potential income during study the time spent on studying cannot be devoted to a productive job that generates production and income. It is assumed that these costs are compensated when the knowledge and competencies accumulated in the education process (human capital) generate a sufficiently high rate of return and raise the future flow of income to a level high enough to compensate for all costs incurred. The theory of human capital originated in the works of Becker (1964) and rests on the assumption of a strong relationship between productivity and wages. The model of Ben-Porath (1967) and the famous Mincer wage equation (1974) show that education and training strongly influence wage formation during the life cycle. Important implications of the Ben-Porath model include the following: - persons with more schooling tend to also invest more in job training; - persons significantly engaged in training in one period are more likely to do so again in the future; 21

23 Addressing Graduates Career Success from the Higher Education Perspective Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks - persons with greater ability or better schooling tend to engage in job training more than others with the same level of schooling; and - with an increase in demand for human capital, we observe an increase in the rate of return on education and on-the-job training (higher in the short run, diminishing in the long run) which are followed by an increase of school enrolments and job training frequency. These models show that the wage curve is concave with respect to age. Wages are lowest in the initial period of a career and then increase but at a diminishing speed so that initial wage increases are much higher than at the end of a professional career. Theory does not answer directly the question of whether the observed wage path can be attributed only to human capital investments. Since the wage profile is influenced by factors other than just accumulated human capital, it is more an empirical question to what extent the wage path depends on school-based education and formal and informal job training. The human capital theory explains this phenomenon by claiming that in the initial period of a career, investment in education and training are characterised by the highest rate of return both for workers and firms. Workers are young so they can appropriate knowledge more easily and have a long time horizon to take advantage of the results of the investment in the form of a higher expected future income. The same reasoning applies to the firm. Firms investing in workers training in the initial period of their career can secure a long flow of future benefits resulting from the workers increased productivity, and hence also higher profits. Empirical findings confirm that job training investments imply statistically significant wage increases and prove to be profitable (Mincer, 1994). Moreover, it turns out that both the duration and incidence of job training declines with age, which is in accordance with human capital theory predictions of the concavity of the wage curve with respect to age. Mincer also shows that workers who experienced job training had on average 4.4% faster wage growth for the analysed period of time compared to those without training. In the same article, Mincer demonstrates that the wage premium on education, measured as wage differentials of college graduates and high school graduates with 10 years job experience more than doubled between 1979 and The argument behind this observation is that the skill-biased technical change, resulting in a relative increase in demand for high skills, was followed by only a minor increase in the labour supply of highly educated graduates. His findings seem to provide strong support for the human capital theory s insights with respect to wage formation and job training. Murnane et al. (2001) investigate the impact of three dimensions of high school students skills on their labour market success a decade after their graduation. They use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth dataset for more than 12,000 male individuals in the age range first surveyed in The authors distinguish the following skills: academic skills, skills in completing elementary mental tasks quickly and accurately, and self-esteem. Their results indicate that all three types of skills play an important and significant role in determining subsequent wages. The striking finding is that the differences in skills are able to explain more than 60% of observed wage differences. Observed increasing education wage premia can be part of the explanation of growing enrolment rates. The evolution of labour market conditions have raised the bar in terms of accessing the job market. Indeed, in previous decades the job market required cognitive skills and routine and non-routine manual abilities; hence, possessing a high school degree was already a strong indicator of human capital accumulation and a good basis for getting a job. Yet, at present, the requirements for accessing the professions have changed and individual success on the job depends more and more on non-routine analytic and interactive skills (Levy and Murnane). Thus, the choice of university programme and the quality of university training is increasingly important for individual future careers. For example, Freeman and Hirsch (2008) 22

24 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project show empirically that there is a strong relationship between the choice of education type and observed labour market conditions Education as a signalling device The theory of human capital postulates a positive correlation between the length of schooling and income, but this theory does not claim the existence of a causal relationship between these two variables. It is often disputable if education plays any role in generating productive skill or knowledge that can directly be used by firms as production input. This observation is a basis for the signalling theory of education. Spence (1973) assumes that education primarily serves as a device to select and filter individuals with potentially higher efficiency and better skills that cannot be directly observed by employers. Natural abilities and skills in this theory are viewed as individual qualities that depend on many factors, but as to which education plays little, if any, role. According to this theory, students who perform better during an educational career (continue education to a higher level, graduate from a better school, receive higher grades) are assumed to perform better in the labour market in terms of demonstrating higher productivity, a better perception of new skills and are more attractive to employers as candidates for employment and investment in training. Education is therefore only a signal for the employer that a potential candidate is of a better quality. In contrast to human capital theory, the theory of signalling suggests that longer schooling does not add to the productivity of a candidate but only serves to show quality that cannot be observed because of imperfect information. An important insight of signalling theory is that less skilled workers tend to overeducate themselves in comparison to what is the socially optimal level of schooling in order to mimic high ability workers. Jaeger and Page (1996) use a dataset from a matched sample of the 1991 and 1992 March Current Population Survey for the US labour market that has information on both years of education and diplomas received. According to signalling theory the net effect of diplomas should still be positive after controlling for other education variables like years of schooling. They improve on earlier empirical estimates of returns to education and find that using 'true' information on degree receipt substantially increases estimated sheepskin effects of high school and college degrees as compared to other levels of education completed. Therefore, this might suggest that the signalling role of education is also important. Dupray (2001) seeks to separate the signalling effect of education on first entry into the labour market and the long-term influence of its human capital component on earnings. Using a multinomial logit selection model, he shows that large firms attach more importance than small ones to the signalling component of education. Therefore, highly educated young people are more likely to be recruited by large companies. Returns to professional experience and education are depreciating faster in large firms than in small ones once the influence of education on the first appointment has been taken into account. The findings support the idea that the signalling impact of education is stronger in large firms than in small ones, which might explain wage inequality among workers endowed with the same amount of education. With respect to the European Union, Psacharopulos (2009) provides a review on the returns to investment in higher education, which broadly confirms the previously described findings. First of all, the earnings advantage of university graduates has been maintained over time, and that it is increasing in most countries, providing a strong incentive to invest in acquiring further education. In particular, the returns are highest in new countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Turkey, and the lowest in Scandinavian countries such as Denmark and Sweden where the structure of the labour market is more 23

25 Addressing Graduates Career Success from the Higher Education Perspective Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks stable. Moreover, Psacharopulos indicates the existence of a weak but negative inverse relationship between the returns to education and a country s per capita income. The following table provides an overview of current estimates of the relevance of investing in higher education in terms of private economic returns. The massification of higher education has led to a weakening of the signalling related to an HE degree. As a consequence, other dimensions of this type of education have started to play this role, for instance: the prestige of the HEI, the type of study programme, the mode of studies (full-time or part-time), the domain or even subdomain of study. HE graduates compete for jobs in a more and more demanding market, which tends to strengthen the importance of elements differentiating their abilities, which by their very nature are hardly observable by potential employers. In the DEHEMS project we concentrate on the domain dimension, studying the determinants of graduates labour market success Search and matching theory Skill and individual matching general perspective The transition of HE graduates from education to the labour market is characterised by several processes. One of the most appealing is the transfer of knowledge as a result of the information process leaning towards the adaptation of these skills for particular work situations. In this way, the early career of HE graduates is often accompanied by the so-called matching issue referring to the compatibility between the individual, education and professional destination. One can define horizontally mismatched as working in a job matching one s own level but not one s own field of education. Vertically mismatched relates to the condition of working in a job matching one s own field but not one s own level of education. Inherently the matching problem relates to several theoretical concerns such as labour market segmentation, mobility, professionalization (and professionalism) or seniority. However, educational matching is not the same as skill matching. Green and Zhu (2010: 751) distinguish between formal and real over-qualification related to the extent of skill (under)utilisation. The first category reflects formal certified knowledge, while the second level reflects actually required skills. In this way, skill matching is a better predictor of job satisfaction and on-the-job search, when controlling for the quality of jobs, than educational mismatches (Allen & van der Velden, 2001). Verhaest and van der Velden (2010: 2) provide a very relevant overview of over-education, pointing out that a significant proportion of jobs in developed countries is characterised by higher formal education, and more highly acquired skills than the expected ones, as reflected in lower return rates and negative attitudes of workers. These authors (ibid.) developed several hypotheses in which they claim that overeducation depends on economic cycles and the structural imbalances they cause, career stages, the quality and selectivity of study programmes, a focus on the production of readymade skills, and labour market protection legislation. Interestingly, several surveys indicate that formally over-educated workers have slightly higher salaries than workers with a lower and suitable education, and they are less satisfied and exposed to cognitive decline (de Grip et al., 2008). Importantly, skill underutilisation not only has negative economic consequences but also a negative impact on individuals' mental abilities. The authors (ibid.) demonstrated that over-educated workers are more vulnerable than under-educated workers with respect to immediate and delayed recall abilities, cognitive flexibility and verbal fluency. 24

26 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project With respect to the research questions of interest for the DEHEMS project, these considerations suggest on one side a strong need for the further analysis of tracer studies focusing on the social and economic consequences of study programmes for HE graduates careers and, on the other, the perception of HE institutions about their own contribution to these aspects Education and job matching macroeconomic perspective Contrary to the traditional static view of the labour market equilibrium, in reality the labour market is in a constant state of flux (see Figure 2.1). On the side of labour supply, there are various flows of workers between different occupations (within employment, flow ee ), between employment and inactivity (flow en retirement and flow ne labour market entry from inactivity), employment and unemployment (flow eu layoffs and flow ue successfully finding new jobs) and between unemployment and inactivity (flow un the discouraged worker effect, and flow nu unsuccessful labour market entry from inactivity). On the labour demand side, there is a constant process of simultaneous job creation and destruction by firms. Firms generate a new flow of vacancies (flow ce and cv ) that can be matched with workers searching for jobs. The creation of job positions depends on a number of factors, which will be explained later. The process of matching jobs and workers is not coordinated and generates costs in the form of resources devoted to recruitment and acquiring information about a candidate s quality on the side of the firm and in the form of gathering information, travel expenses and so on the side of the worker. At the same time, market forces make firms destroy already existing job positions (flow ed and vd ) which separates workers and firms and generates at least temporary (frictional) unemployment. All these considerations were a basis for the search and matching theory of unemployment (Mortensen and Pissarides, 1994). The matching process of workers to job positions is analogous to the aggregate production function, but instead of factors of production it utilises workers and vacancies as inputs, and depends on a number of assumptions (labour demand side factors and labour supply side factors). This process can be relatively costly if: - job vacancies and workers qualifications are more and more heterogeneous; - matching technology becomes less effective; - the costs of gathering information about workers quality are high; - the costs for firms of opening a vacancy are high; - the costs of recruitment and training are high; and - the costs of hiring and firing are high. Employment in the labour market is the effect of an interplay between labour demand and supply. The labour demand side is mainly driven by economic forces which affect firms productivity and profitability. The ability of firms to create job openings strongly depends not only on current profits but also on expectations of the future flow of profits (within a reasonable time horizon). These can be altered by many economic factors like output prices, technology, the prices of inputs, investment decisions, the cost of credit, government policy, exchange rate changes and other internationally transmitted macroeconomic shocks. 25

27 Addressing Graduates Career Success from the Higher Education Perspective Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks Figure 2.1: Labour market flows and interdependencies between labour demand and supply Labour market institutions Education Market forces - economic environment (e. g. skill biased technical change) S Labor supply (L ) D Labor demand (L ) ee Employment (E) Working-age inactive (N) ne en Matched workers Filled jobs ce Newly created jobs (C) Potential jobs un nu eu ue ev ve Unemployed workers (U) Unfilled/ Vacant jobs (V) cv vd ed Recently destroyed jobs (D) It is worth noting that the demand for labour is demand derived from the demand for final goods sold by the firm. Therefore, changes in the demand for final goods or services will affect the demand for factors of production, including for labour. The actual transmission from a change in the demand for final goods to the demand for factors depends on the nature of technology (degree of substitutability between factors, their prices) and the nature of adjustment costs. It is optimal for the firm to adjust the employment of factors of production in such a way as to minimise the costs of such a decision. It may turn out that when there are high costs of hiring and firing employment will exhibit some kind of inertia, a phenomenon known as labour market hoarding. Employment will increase slowly in periods of economic boom. This is because firms do not want to hire too many workers if the costs of firing them are high. Part of the increase in the demand for labour will materialise in the form of extending hours of work. In the longer term, the number of employed will increase gradually. On the other hand, if the firm is faced with adverse productivity shocks it should reduce its demand for factors. But in fact when the costs of firing are high, the firm will prefer a reduction of working hours first and only then over time gradually reduce the number of its workers. Recruiting new workers when the costs of training are high can also be very costly so it is optimal to keep too many workers in an economic slowdown and too few in a period of prosperity. The problem of labour market hoarding becomes particularly important during a period of structural changes in labour demand. In fact, one of the key elements of the nature of the contemporary labour market s evolution in developed countries can be labelled skillbiased technical change (SBTC). This phenomenon results in a shift of the labour demand in favour of 26

28 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project high skills. In the short run, this leads to an increase of relative wages (a skill wage premium) of highly skilled workers and an increase in the hours worked. In the long run, the relative employment of highly skilled workers rises, provided that it is accompanied with changes in the labour supply. It is also necessary to underline that firms behaviour is strongly influenced by labour market institutions as they regulate type of contracts, and the costs of hiring and firing. The labour supply side is determined by the size of the working-age population, the institutional context of all de iure (explicit) and de facto (implicit) rules which affect people s activity and the education sector. The individual s decision regarding labour supply depends on the value of the alternative cost of work. Unemployment benefits and other non-wage income reduce incentives to supply one s labour. On the other hand, people who have invested more in their education (human capital investment) have more to lose, so their cost of not working is high. This is reflected in a positive correlation between participation rates and education levels. The important prediction of contemporary labour market economic theory is that it is the labour supply that follows changes in labour demand and not vice versa. For instance, in a situation of SBTC as the education process (the production of high skills) lags behind changes in labour demand, the labour supply reacts with a delay, but eventually the supply of highly skilled labour increases. That is why in the short run the SBTC can also affect the matching process of workers to vacancies, making it harder to find suitable candidates for jobs. The theory of search and matching resulted in a new empirical approach to labour market studies. First of all, usually a flow approach is used that stresses the fact of constant fluctuations. Secondly, it is stressed that not only the characteristics of labour supply (age, education, employment experience, gender, search intensity etc.) play a role in determining one s labour market position, but also labour demand factors (sector-specific or firm-specific) are very important. On the side of methodology, empirical studies more and more often use a time-dependence perspective. It is argued that one s current status in the labour market may be in part explained by the time spent in this state and/or previous history (hysteresis). For instance, in the study of current unemployment it is important to take into account the actual time spent in the current state (longer unemployment may lead to higher human capital depreciation, but also to the intensification of search if unemployment benefits diminish over time). Previous labour market history should also be included among the determinants of the current status as this influences the process of human capital formation. This perspective is important for studying empirical links between schooling history and labour market entry or initial career patterns, which is exactly one of the purposes of the DEHEMS project. Another important aspect is the matching of graduates skills to employers' needs. The understanding of the professional success of graduates by HE managers is important for curricula formation to make them suitable for current challenges and smoothing the transition of graduates into the labour market. The theory of search and matching postulates that candidates who are better matched to the labour market conditions tend to find jobs much sooner and have higher bargaining power. It is not a priori evident that an HE system finds the problem of matching as its primary concern. The DEHEMS project aims to identify the HEIs activities aimed at enhancing graduates employability. 27

29 Addressing Graduates Career Success from the Higher Education Perspective Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks Employability Much of the attention in higher education developments in recent years strongly relates to the issue of graduates employability. The emerging position of this concept is widespread in national and international science, media and political arenas, particularly in organisations such as the International Labour Organisation, the European Commission, or the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Even though in this context the concept of employability might be observed as too narrow and limited to graduates success, which could limit the function of higher education as a direct facilitator of labour market needs, it can hardly be avoided in discussions of competence development. The concept of employability might be presented as a holistic framework for the integration of different issues in an indicated context related to typologies of competencies, job requirements, labour market segmentation, or determinants of graduates' careers generally and the function of education systems providing skills for the labour market. In this context, definitions of employability usually relate to paradoxes and causalities of: - employability as individual capabilities versus actual registered employment; - employability in the context of deprivileged youth in terms of getting a job at all versus the further prosperity of privileged youth (Teichler, 2008: 302); - employability as a skill-supply phenomenon versus a skill-demand phenomenon as measured in skill shortages versus skill surpluses (Allen & Van der Velden, 2005); - employability as individual factors (e.g. skills, qualifications, socio-biographic characteristics) versus personal circumstances (e.g. access to resources, work culture, household circumstances) (McQuaid & Lindsay, 2005: 209); and - employability as the justification of the professional orientation of jobs in which predominant characteristics are distinguished among managerial-organisational characteristics of jobs versus professional characteristics. As indicated, the concept of employability is not new. McQuaid and Lindsay (2005: 209), for example, give a historical overview of the concept starting from the beginning of the 20th century. In its evolution the concept has moved from a dichotomic, deterministic and mechanical view towards multidimensional humanistic aspirations. This evolutionary perspective of the concepts compares well with the evolution of human resource management concerns from F. W. Taylor s Scientific Management in 1930 towards newer paradigms focusing on individual needs, motives and network organisations (e.g. Choo & Bontis, 2002) reflecting the problems and realities of increasingly segmented labour markets. Another evolutionary perspective on employability, in line with the one above, is described by Thijssen et al. (2008: ). They describe phenomena on the societal, company and individual levels as a framework for the identification of general developments. They describe how the concept has chiefly been used historically (ibid.): - in the 1970s predominantly for resolving problems with school leavers and underprivileged people with political ambitions to attain full employment and cut public losses; - in the 1980s for restructuring companies with corporates ambitions to attain efficient human resource management; and - in the 1990s for individuals as motives for developing successful career opportunities in segmented and ever more flexible labour markets. Narrowing the issue of employability down to the probability of getting any job after graduation has become insufficient for the development of HE management systems and policies. In order to support the premises of developing new educational programmes, improving modes of learning and teaching and 28

30 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project alumni development, the demand for a broader span of empirical evidence related to HE is inevitable. Hence, the concept of employability should in the context of higher education always be defined as a multidimensional concept explained on the individual level as one s capabilities of retaining a self-rewarding job, in employers organisations as human resource requirements for fulfilling operational tasks and on the societal level as a system facilitator between (higher) education, the labour market and civil lives. In this way, the consequences for employability of the utilisation of employability data in HE can in the final context be viewed in a very observable notion related to the quality of jobs The concept of professional career and career success The professional career The term career descends from the Latin carraria, meaning a carriage-road or road and can be defined as [a] person s course or progress through life (OUP, 1989, in Gunz & Heslin, 2005: 106, original emphasis) or regarded as an evolving sequence of work experience over time (Arthur, Hall, & Lawrence, 1989) as well as a sequence of positions occupied by a person during the course of a lifetime (Super, 1980: 282). Still, even within this definition variations of what is to be taken into account can be substantial across gender, occupational domains and cultures (Triandis, 1994). Careers are not only closely linked with context, but also with time (Hall & Nougaim, 1968). A number of prominent stage models of career have been developed, describing typical stages that individuals go through during their careers (Hall & Mirvis, 1996; Levinson, Klein, Levinson, & McKee, 1978; Schein, 1978; Super, 1957), with the implication that these stages stay consistent over time within a relatively stable environment. For individuals, the meaning of careers and success may be different as they move through their career and life stages (Hall, 2002). Further, a very basic perspective on careers is to distinguish between objective or extrinsic, observable and subjective or intrinsic, interpretative aspects of careers (see Hughes, 1937) which will be outlined in more detail in the section describing career success (also see secticon ). Careers not only comprise individual experiences but are also socially embedded in context. Consequently, analysing careers requires a consideration of context (Mayrhofer, Meyer, & Steyrer, 2007). According to the onion peel model (see Mayrhofer et al., 2007: 217), careers will be described based on the different layers of influencing factors and on the proximity they have to the individual. Besides the abovementioned cultural environment and individual influences such as dispositional differences, various layers of external factors influence the course of careers. These include the context of origin, the context of work, the context of society and culture and the global context (see Figure 2.2). 29

31 Addressing Graduates Career Success from the Higher Education Perspective Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks Figure 2.2: Layers of influencing factors on careers (Mayrhofer, Meyer, & Steyrer, 2005: 16) Global context Internationalisation Context of society & culture Context of work Community Gender External Class & labor social markets origin Context of origin Person Career patterns, Career success Social Current relationships life context Educational socialization Work history Ethnicity New forms of work and organizing Demography Virtualisation Another career approach related to the development of professional expertise was developed by Dreyfus and Dreyfus (1986). They presented a multi-stage model in which the individual progresses through different stages from novice to expert. Markowitsch et al. (2008) elaborated the model in relation to areas of professional application, work processes and relations of the individual towards work tasks. The underlying question in this model refers to the centrality of tasks in a particular domain and, more importantly, to the issue of whether specific competencies can be developed in the context of generic ones or vice versa Career success Although the term success is widely used in everyday language it needs to be specified for scientific purposes. Success also has a Latin origin, with succedere meaning to follow. Originally, what follows can be either good or bad. The term only later acquired its recently dominating positive implication as the attainment of an object according to one s desire (Friedman et al., 2000: 27; OUP, 1989, in Gunz et al., 2005: 105). Consequently, success is today ambiguous, it can either be a consequence or a favourable outcome (Gunz et al., 2005: 105). Career success is viewed as the positive psychological or work-related outcomes or achievements one has accumulated as a result of one s work experiences (Judge et al., 1995: 486). There has been extensive multi-disciplinary research on career outcomes (Arthur et al., 1989), often differentiating between objective and subjective career success (see e.g. Barrick & Mount, ; Frieze, Moss, & Olson, 1991; Gunz et al., 2005; Heron, 1954; Ng, Eby, Sorensen, & Feldman, 2005). Just like career, the term career success equally covers a dichotomy of objective and subjective elements. This distinction is one of the most fundamental in career research and dates back to the early 20th century (Hughes, 1937; 1951) and will be introduced in the following sub-sections. 30

32 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Objective/extrinsic career success: Objective career success denotes components such as income or hierarchical advancement that are directly observable, measurable and verifiable by an impartial third party (see e.g., Gattiker & Larwood, 1988; Judge & Bretz Jr., 1994). Variables in this respect can be salary, salary growth, hierarchical advancement, occupational status or the extent of one s responsibility (see e.g., Forret & Dougherty, 2004). These outcomes are both external rewards of the occupation and objectively visible (see Judge et al., 2007; Seibert & Kraimer, 1999, A1). While Hughes already stated the importance of including other subjective aspects in the analysis decades ago, the need to do so has increased significantly since then (Gunz et al., 2005). Subjective/Intrinsic career success: Subjective career success depends heavily on individuals (re- )construction of career success according to subjective and individualised patterns. It refers to a person s individual perspective and the interpretation and evaluation of what and how s/he experiences their unfolding career (Hughes, 1937, in Heslin, 2005: 114). Subjective career success is mostly operationalised as career or job satisfaction (see e.g., Aryee, Chay, & Tan, 1994; Judge et al., 1995, 1999a) since it is often defined as individuals feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction with their careers (Judge et al., 1995: 2). An important advantage of this personal perspective is the fact that actual attainments are seen in relation to what the individual expected or wished for (Heslin, 2005: 117) and recent studies investigate these aspects (Dries, Pepermans, & Carlier, 2008). Other possible measurements are the work-life balance, perceived employability (De Vos & Soens, 2008), the opportunity to learn new skills or job security (Keng-Howe & Liao, 1999). Self-referent and other-referent career success : Career success is also highly dependent on the point of reference, independently of whether objective, subjective or both groups of variables are taken into account. Outcomes can either be compared to personal standards, values or aspirations (i.e. self-referent) or to the achievements or expectations of other people (i.e. other-referent) (see Gattiker et al., 1988; Heslin, 2005: 118). Table 2.1 summarises the possible combinations of self- and other-referent with objective and subjective criteria of career success. Table 2.1: Four categories of career success criteria Subjective Self-Referent 1. subjective self-referent criteria e.g. my goal regarding my work-life balance Other-Referent 2. subjective other-referent criteria e.g. my fun, relative to my peers Source: adapted from Heslin, 2005: 121. Objective 3. objective self-referent criteria e.g. my financial aspirations 4. objective other-referent criteria e.g. own promotions, relative to colleagues These criteria appear at first sight to be subjective and in Heslin s (2005: 121) article they actually are. Irrespective of this, this table follows a slightly different logic as only the criteria in the first three boxes require the subject s input. Undoubtedly, subjective self-referent (1) and subjective other-referent (2) criteria are by their very nature based on a personal (subjective) evaluation and objective self-referent (3) criteria presuppose existing individual aspirations (or other references). By contrast, objective other-referent criteria (4) can, but need not, be subjective as a comparison of e.g. the hierarchical advancement of two individuals is directly visible for an external observer. Still, this objective comparison may subjectively be evaluated differently. If, for example, two compared persons have experienced the same promotions, one of the two may nevertheless consider herself/himself unsuccessful because they feel their better performance has not been accounted for. 31

33 Addressing Graduates Career Success from the Higher Education Perspective Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks The importance of social comparison is well documented by the quantity and quality of research done in this field (see e.g. Abele & Wiese, 2008; Festinger, 1954; Heslin, 2005: 119). As pointed out above, a very pragmatic approach to empirically studying career success by comparing the income and promotions of the different persons of a sample group (objective other-referent) also falls into this category, although Heslin s (2005) contribution is aimed more at the subjective evaluation of career success criteria. This paragraph illustrates how important subjective input is for a better understanding of career success. Lastly, it is important to stress that a very important aspect of career success is related to the level of acquired competencies and their match with competencies required by employers. Competencies are important for individuals as well as for organisations which link them to performance. The aim for organisations to continuously improve their performance has never been greater (Harel & Tzafrir, 1999), resulting from multifaceted challenges from the organisational competitive environment as well as an increased emphasis on inclusivity in strategy formulation within organisations. After McClelland (1973) first proposed competency-based human resources as a critical differentiator of performance, almost every larger organisation nowadays utilises different forms of competency-based human resource management (Boyatzis, 2008). Several definitions of competence exist on which mainly consulting companies practice application e.g. competency assessment and development. Promoted competency-based HR processes are based on the assumptions that it is possible to identify and isolate the behaviours exhibited more consistently by excellently performing employees than averagely performing employees. Once these potentials are identified, training and coaching interventions enable the transmission of these competencies throughout the workforce within organisations. Competencies are seen as the potential to integrate all HR systems if the behavioural standards of excellent performers become the foundation of recruitment, selection, performance management, pay, training and development, and promotions (Klein, 1996: 31). Also considering an individual s subjective evaluation of their peers and of objective career measurements opens in a positive sense a Pandora s box full of implications regarding the reciprocal influence of both contextual and individual factors of career success (Heslin, 2005: 121) Factors influencing a professional career As outlined above, different layers can influence career patterns and career success. In the following section, these layers are described in more detail. We focus on non-education-related and education-related factors. This division is important from the perspective of the aims of the project as we are primarily interested in the role played by higher education institutions in facilitating the process of graduates transition from the schooling system into professional lives. The non-education-related factors are however also very important and need to be controlled for when we study the question of how various education-related factors influence the labour market success of graduates. All these control factors can have an independent influence, keeping all other variables constant (ceteris paribus assumption). Non-education-related factors Personal and social aspects of career: The inner circle of factors influencing careers comprises personrelated factors, in particular the personality of the respective individual. Personality plays an important role in both academic and everyday life discussions of careers. One of the most mentioned personality trait concepts in the career literature is the Big Five personality dimensions neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (see e.g. Seibert & Kraimer, 2001). Many studies have found that these dimensions have an impact on career success (Fuller & Marler, 2009; Rode, 32

34 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Arthaud-Day, Mooney, Near, & Baldwin, 2008; Judge & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2007). Relevant groups of variables in this layer can be personality traits, career aspiration, and work orientation/motivation. Context of origin: The context of origin refers to a person s cultural, social, class and educational background as well as their work history (Mayrhofer et al., 2007). Career research in this field has targeted topics such as the degree of social selection and pre-determination of careers (Blau & Duncan, 1967; Hartmann, 1996; 2001; both in Mayrhofer et al., 2007), influences of class and social origin (see e.g. Schoon, Martin, & Ross, 2007), educational socialisation (Cook, 1996), socio-economic status and the family s structure (e.g. Bronnfenbrenner, 1979), the effects of mentoring (Whitley, Dougherty, & Dreher, 1991) or inter- and intragenerational mobility. However, it is not all about the past and about socialisation. The current-life context (see e.g. Higgins & Duxbury, 1992) often directly affects decisions and opportunities-to-be and thereby careers altogether (Mayrhofer et al., 2007). The personal life situation depends on e.g. age (van der Heijden, Schalk, & Veldhoven, 2008), marital status (Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000; Judge, Cable, Boudreau, & Bretz, 1995), but the social perception of this situation is equally important (ibid.). Context of society and culture: In the context of society and culture, four major issues influencing careers have to be mentioned: gender (see e.g. Cook, 1993), ethnicity and minorities, community (see e.g. Veiga, 1983), and overall demography (see e.g. Reitzle, Körner, & Vondracek, 2009). Although society and culture also influence the context of origin and thereby indirectly affect careers, for careers only the direct effects are relevant. The question to be addressed here is: Which opportunities or restrictions for careers does the context of society and culture provide? In addition, cultural beliefs can lead to pre-described career patterns and also influence the subjective evaluation of what/who is considered successful (Hofstede, 2001). Although cultural differences have to be accounted for within a distinct culture, there may well be a set of values that is common to many successful persons. In this respect, values such as ambition a strong need for achievement and determination, a positive approach to live or a strong dedication to the job can be mentioned (Cox & Cooper, 1989: 244). Work-related aspects of career: The context of work encompasses issues such as job characteristics, work-related social relationships (see e.g. Higgins, 2001, but also external labour markets, new forms of working and organising (see e.g. Khapova, Arthur, & Wilderom, 2007) and the economic and institutional environment (see e.g. Heinz, 2000). This layer of the onion is particularly susceptible to impacts from other areas, e.g. general trends from the global context. Although the borderline may not be clear-cut at first sight, one has to distinguish between how the global context affects work and the oblique consequences for careers. It may well be argued that in this onion picture all the layers are linked to each other; still, each context has its distinct effects on careers, directly. Global context: As a consequence of the internationalisation (see e.g. Baruch, 2004) and virtualisation of work practices (see e.g. Jensen & Westenholz, 2004), career opportunities and career paths have changed significantly (Mayrhofer et al., 2007). It is obvious that global trends affect careers both directly in the form of changing work environments and indirectly through a possible adaption of perspectives and underlying social views. Education-related factors It is claimed that early labour market experience significantly influences workers career paths having an impact on their employment chances, employment characteristics and wages. In this respect, labour mar- 33

35 Addressing Graduates Career Success from the Higher Education Perspective Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks ket entry is crucial both for microeconomic efficiency and the efficient allocation of resources in the economy from a macroeconomic point of view. Successful entry into the labour market after graduation is thought of as a sign of good coordination between the education sector (supply of competencies) and labour market requirements (demand for skills). Matching efficiency as suggested by the job search and matching theory approach is a crucial factor determining unemployment rates and unemployment (search) spells. Therefore, a smooth transition from education into the labour market significantly influences the unemployment rates of the young people. This, in turn, has an impact on the process of human capital formation in the economy and prevents early human capital depreciation. Successful entry into the labour market also has important implications for wage formation during the life cycle. Empirical investigation seems to strongly confirm a negative effect of prolonged unemployment spells after graduation on wages earned much later during a professional career. Last but not least, a smooth transition from the education system into the labour market facilitates the process of adjusting human resources to various macroeconomic shocks and strengthens the overall macroeconomic efficiency of the economy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated that education-related factors are key determinants of labour market success. It is claimed that education plays an important role in acquiring human capital, improving labour productivity and hence determining one s future income path (human capital theory). On the other hand education may be regarded as a signalling device which allows employers to acquire information on the productivity of potential workers: when the quality of workers cannot be directly observable, a higher education level and/or graduation with a better diploma may be thought of as a signal of a greater ability to learn, willingness to make effort etc. (signalling theory) Relevance of career approaches for the DEHEMS project Career and career success are relevant concepts in order to measure the effects higher education (systems) has on graduates. While higher education research approaches the area more from a macro perspective, career research provides additional insights by looking at outcomes at the level of individuals, i.e. the objective and subjective career success of graduates. Career success can be seen as the result of one s individual employability and is therefore of particular relevance for the DEHEMS project that examines the influence of higher education systems on employability. However, it is important to note that higher education is by far not the only factor influencing graduates careers. Therefore, other factors as well as an integrative model were presented in order to contextualise any possible effects of higher education. This is relevant for DEHEMS because the project addresses higher education systems and, thus, only selected elements of the presented model. 2.3 DESIGNING A MODEL OF GRADUATES' CAREER SUCCESS Much of the empirical work related to the transition from education to the world of work has been done by the OECD. In particular, in 2005 and 2006 the OECD s Network B developed a framework for transition systems defined as "the social institutions and processes through which a society provides its members to make the transition from the education system to the employment system" (van der Velden, Wolbers, 2008: 13), focusing on proportions of school-level completion, the level of acquired competencies, the share of school leavers and quality of employment, to mention just a few. In this context, the authors (ibid. 34

36 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project 12-13) presented models from individual 8 and societal perspectives. The central features of both models relate to skill, job and educational matching. However, the individual perspective model stresses personal, job, organisational characteristics and managerial practices, while the macro model produces a further elaboration of education, transition and employment system traits. Both models emphasise societal and economic conditions. Another model addressing the transition from higher education to the labour market has been conceptually designed by Svetlik and Pavlin (2009). The model is placed in the framework of system theory (Jung, 2007) with the accent on a dynamic equilibrium. The system in question is a labour market system composed of the interrelations between demand and supply, resulting in certain wages and other indicators of success, and reacting to environmental challenges (Addison & Siebert, 1979). The set of relations starts with the global competitive pressure which both shapes and is shaped by the environmental challenges faced by individual organisations. Organisations respond to these challenges by way of adaptations in terms of a trade-off between price and quality, re-organisations and innovations. Organisational adaptations lead to changes in the composition and level of required competencies. Different adaptations lead to the raising or lowering of the demand for various competencies at various proficiency levels. According to the standard curriculum development procedure, we can expect that the required competencies will be an important basis for the elaboration and adaptation of teaching programmes/courses which aim at matching the competencies students acquire with those required by organisations. In addition to the curriculum, HE institutions can respond to demands from the world of work by developing and adapting various modes of teaching and learning. At this point, one should also include the transfer of endogenously created knowledge at universities, which does not always correspond to job requirements but is conveyed to students and helps them develop their competencies. 8 Elaborated by the Report of the Task Force on Transition into Employment of the Canadian Labour Force Development Board (CLFDB, 1994). 35

37 Addressing Graduates Career Success from the Higher Education Perspective Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks Figure 2.3: Transition from Education to the World of Work A System-Level Comparison Source: Svetlik and Pavlin (2009); conceptual draft paper. In combination with the time and energy individual students put into learning, the characteristics of the HE system influence the types and levels of competencies graduates acquire. However, these effects are likely to be modified by other experiences of students while at university, for example internships, other paid work, and participation in student associations or university politics. Of course, competence development continues after graduation and also depends significantly on work-related experiences after completing studying. The effect of work experience of competencies will depend largely on the nature of work tasks related to knowledge management and learning at work. These knowledge-management activities also affect and are affected by the strategies organisations apply to adapt to the demands of their environment. Acquired competencies in relation to other factors contribute to the individual s labour market success. The relationship between required and acquired competencies shows how well-balanced the labour and training markets/systems are. If required competencies exceed acquired ones they may contribute to individuals satisfaction at work and could directly influence other dimensions of labour market success, at least to some extent. However, skill mismatches may impede the ability of organisations to use their technologies and to innovate, forcing them to seek out other organisational adaptations. At the same time, such a reserve of skills represents an investment in human resources, which is becoming a driving force of innovation (Estevez-Abe, Iversen, Soskice, 2002). One could also investigate the relations between the successes of individuals and organisations. Different conceptual developments have been made during the DEHEMS project. The prevailing logic presumes that different influencing factors determine the career success of a particular individual and people generally. Both components of influencing factors and career success are multidimensional. This step of operationalization on the individual level is presented in Figure 2.4. The model distinguishes between individual success facts and related subjective concepts in terms of individual attributions related to career 36

38 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project facts. In this way, influencing factors are composed of four main components (Demeter, Chudzikowski & Pavlin, 2010), namely the context of origin refers to a person s cultural, social, class and educational background as well as their work history (Mayrhofer et al., 2007), the context of higher education, referring chiefly to teaching and learning modes and organisational characteristics, the context of work encompassing issues such as job characteristics, work-related social relationships, labour markets, new forms of working and organising, and the context of society and culture that involves societal and biographical data. Figure 2.4: Conceptual model of career success Context of Society Context of Higher Education Context of Origin Person & Self- Referential Career Success Context of Work Objective Career Success Contextual Factors (Globalisation/Domain) Source: Demeter, Chudzikowski, & Pavlin (2010); conceptual contribution to the DEHEMS project, draft document. Another model discussed within the DEHEMS project considers three main components, namely: a) contextual factors; b) determinants within the jurisdiction of graduates and HE institutions; and c) components of LM success. Learning modes Teaching modes Study success Vocational orientation Practical orientation Study-related experiences Selection Study workload International scope of LM Table 2.2: Conceptual proposal within the DEHEMS project Contextual factors Determinants within the jurisdiction of HEI management Components success Country Status Professional Domain Prestige Economic Cycle Income Local Determinants Contractual Demographic data Social Background arrangement Autonomy Content & Acquired competencies Utilisation of Knowledge Creativity Job Satisfaction Source: Adjusted according to Schomburg, Janson, & Pavlin (2010). 37

39 Addressing Graduates Career Success from the Higher Education Perspective Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks The above table is designed so that it holistically follows the logic of the CHEERS, REFLEX and HEGESCO item structure. In its further development, it incorporates and distinguishes among: - the determinants of graduates LM success (past education and work experiences, type of HE qualification and study, educational characteristics, modes of teaching and learning, international experiences, study success); and - the components of LM success (status, skill and qualification matching, autonomy, innovation and satisfaction). The components of LM success have been further tested by Principle Factor Analysis in the case of the HEGESCO and REFLEX data sets. Following the developmental premises within the DEHEMS project, this model will be used on a domain basis and further operationalized in Chapter CONSIDERING AND SELECTING PROFESSIONAL DOMAINS FOR THE DEHEMS SURVEY The flow of knowledge from (higher) education to the world of work can be viewed as future professionals preparations for understanding new situations, recognising which areas of knowledge are relevant to a particular situation, focusing precisely on the knowledge needed for a particular decision or action, and having the capacity to transform previously acquired explicit knowledge to suit the new situation prior to or during performance (Eraut 2006: 49). In this context, the key questions relate to the extent to which curricula should be structured by scientific disciplines or by professional areas, whether HE should focus on the professional domain or also try to shape a student s personality and whether HE should produce readymade skills or prepare students for a lifelong career (Teichler, 1996: 155). In this way the typologies of HE institutions are predominantly described in relation to the world of work. Hence, the linkage between both domains can be described in this way (Pavlin and Svetlik, 2008): - blank initiation referring to the situation in which an HE institution produces new certificates for graduates without bothering to consider how the graduates fit into the sector or the established professional profile. In this case, the HE institution can develop or not develop professional standards distinguishing the»emerging«graduates from competitive ones; - transformative initiation relating to the adaptation of established educational programmes. Because of the broad scope of competencies, the education institution does not wish to or cannot deal very much with the performance of practical or situational forms of particular job settings however, the linkage with the world of work is more a matter of image. This is in fact related to the»outsourcing«of practice to employer organisations while the development of professional competencies actually starts with their entry to the labour market; or - professional establishments representing the most prominent form of co-operation. Due to good protection of the professional area, a very focused form of professional knowledge transfer can occur in such circumstances. This situation is above all characteristic of the most professionalised university profiles in which a profession establishes university learning centres, learning companies or hospitals. In higher education science and in particular academic fields, numerous other typologies have been developed. Macfarlane (1995), for example, in the case of the business and economics field of study elaborates how classifications address five types of identity issues, namely epistemological, academic, institutional, 38

40 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project doctrinal and professional. The better known Biglan model has a three-dimensional classification scheme combining faculty orientation with academic subject areas (Roskens, 1983). On a similar basis, Neumann (2009: 497) differentiates between the hard-pure category (e.g. natural sciences and mathematics), softpure (the humanities and the social sciences), hard-applied (e.g. medicine) or soft-applied (e.g. social work). Following Neumann, this typology importantly determines the main premises of the curriculum, assessments and prevailing cognitive purpose. Another known typology has been developed by Kolb (1981). This author classifies the natural sciences as abstract and reflective, the social sciences as concrete and reflective, science-based professionals as abstract and active, and social professions as concrete and active. A similar typology has been considered within the DEHEMS project. The selection of professional domains has mainly been determined in study fields to some extent also taking into consideration the distribution of graduates in the REFLEX and HEGESCO data, and above all encompassing the variety of study field types. Table 2.3: Types of HE study domains Vocational Orientation Unregulated Domain Social Sciences and Business and Economics Humanities Science and Engineering Engineering (incl. Civil Engineer) Source: Schomburg, Janson and Pavlin (2010). DEHEMS project. Regulated Domain Education and Teaching Studies Medicine and Pharmacology Academic Orientation Sociology and Political Studies Life Science (incl. Mathematics, Computing) In the next sessions this report incorporated data analyses, a review of secondary sources, interviews and panel studies mainly classified by the study domains listed above. Before this, we turn our attention to HE management systems. 2.5 WHAT HE MANAGEMENT SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GRADUATES CAREERS? CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES Strategic planning and resources allocation in higher education management Introduction Within higher education institutions, the planning function has emerged since the post-wwii period, following some evolutionary phases analogous with those of other types of firms (Cope, 1982). At the beginning of the 1980s, George Keller, in one of the first systematic contributions on this topic, claimed that higher education in the United States had gone into a revolutionary period. In the new context conditions, colleges and universities had to adopt a more active and change-oriented managerial style: The era of laissez-faire campus administration is over. The era of academic strategy has begun (Keller, 1983: 26). During the last three decades, those conditions have been revived within European universities, sparking off debates, studies and experiments about the usefulness of planning and control systems faced with the 39

41 Addressing Graduates Career Success from the Higher Education Perspective Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks institutional peculiarities of European higher education institutions (Clark, 1998; CRE, 1998; Tabatoni, Davies, Barblan, 2000). In a prestigious work of the 1970s, Cohen and March (1974) report on interviews given by the administrative staff of some universities, observing that the importance of planning and control systems is hardly ever denied. The authors assert that universities have financial and academic plans, but in the best hypothesis it is a matter of what various departments wish for a gift. The authors reach the conclusion that there is a lack of empirical evidence not only about the real implementation, but also about the usefulness of planning and control systems in the peculiar academic context. Colleges and universities are described as organised anarchies where the rationality of management and control processes is dominated by informality, the instability of the participation, the chance of a meeting between problems, opportunities, decision-makers, and solutions. Other studies substantiate that it is not only a matter of a lack of organisational conditions or interest in a rational approach to the university management, but there are some intrinsic limits of planning models (Keller, 1983). Since the 1980s, planning experiences have increased and this has contributed to the development of strategic approaches to university management. At the end of the 1990s, a study conducted in the UK (HEFCE, 2000) asserted the centrality of strategic approach to rethink the university s mission and way of being in order to create a widespread entrepreneurial attitude in terms of risk taking, orientation towards the future, a focus on students, and the satisfaction of stakeholders needs. Peterson (1997) describes contextual planning as the strategic approach to university management which is developed by overcoming the critical points of strategic planning. The approach to university strategy has to be intentional, but strategy does not appear analytically elaborated in programmes and action plans from the start and has to be converted into a detailed strategic plan. In fact, each strategy has its life cycle (Normann, 1977): at first, it emerges as an entrepreneurial idea, as a vision that induces coherent decisional processes, especially learning by doing. Only when the strategic design appears steady and definite enough can formal planning offer its contribution in terms of strategy rationalisation and validation by means of documentation of the strategic plan Performance management system Universities can activate a performance management system for different reasons that are linked to different meanings of control: - Revision of the initial strategy when the continuous monitoring of the external and internal environments makes it evident that the hypotheses on which it has been built are weakening (strategic premises control). According to the expression of Newman (1975), it is a matter of controlling the march direction, that is to say of activating ex ante control mechanisms (feed forward), trying to anticipate the implications that changes can produce on the way to pursuing predetermined objectives. - Activation of ex post control mechanisms (feedback), aimed at verifying that implementation processes are aligned with the plan and are producing the desired results (strategy implementation control), as asserted by Lorange (1977). Research studies carried out within companies (Amigoni, 1982; Lorange, Scott Morton, Ghoshal, 1986) highlight that strategic control cannot be considered as an activity for top management only or as a simple control of the strategic plan defined by top management. Also other managers exercise strategic manage- 40

42 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project ment functions: coming into daily contact with problems related to products/services, technologies, clients needs, suppliers and competitors offers, codifying change signals, finding new solutions, and so starting strategic learning paths. In fact, in taking their decisions operational unities can create the conditions to realise positive or negative far-reaching strategic changes, able to deeply and permanently affect the company s performance, also beyond an intentional strategic design. These assumptions on the development of control systems, which essentially referred to companies, are shown to be particularly applicable to traditionally decentralised organisations like universities. It is possible to assume two dimensions of performance measurement and management: - The control of deviations between the intentional strategy and realised strategy; deviations can be caused by both implementation problems of the plan and the presence of spontaneous initiatives outside the plan. - The comparison between the achieved results (performance) and realised strategy, which enters into the merits of the adequacy of both intentional planning processes and organisational learning processes typical of spontaneous strategies. The two dimensions of control are based on different premises: - The former dimension has a prevailing organisational nature since it implies a behavioural approach aimed at analysing the organisational, social and individual variables that determine alignment or misalignment between the strategic vision, objectives and organisational behaviour. - The latter dimension has conversely an economic nature and concerns the quality of the realised strategy, that is to say the effectiveness of strategic management processes, both intentional and spontaneous, in terms of performance. Performance management can be viewed as economic management control over what to measure and how to do it, in order to allow the greatest effectiveness and precise observation of the results produced by the strategy. However, performance measurement has some strong behavioural implications as well. In one of the first works on the organisational dimension of control systems, Flamholtz (1980) proposed a psycho-technical system of measurement which intends to produce some predefined psychological functions (behavioural) by means of the process and the output of the measurement. The organisational behaviour is the result of the measurement so the planners of an organisational measurement system must have an idea of the desired behavioural issues that their systems intend to produce Funding and resources allocation Faculties and departments, as the main responsibility centres of a university, have a twofold order of responsibility: academic and economic. The academic responsibilities are related to the realisation of the specific missions defined by the unities according their own vision of the endogenous development of disciplines and its change to meet the interests of external and internal (central strategies) social interlocutors of the university. The economic responsibilities depend on the decision-making devolutions of the economic process and consequently on the chosen model of economic governance. Both the forms of responsibility can be similar in span and depth, but not necessarily coincident. Academic responsibilities are defined so that operational units have full control of the main technical phases of 41

43 Addressing Graduates Career Success from the Higher Education Perspective Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks research and teaching processes (admissions, curriculum and research agenda design, discovery, settlement, and diffusion of scientific knowledge etc.), while economic responsibilities can be defined by focusing on the concentration or decentralisation of the decisions about resources. In the first case, universities reveal themselves as a federation of independent unities from the academic viewpoint, but strongly integrated from the economic and financial viewpoint. In the second case, the operational unities have autonomy both in terms of academic affairs and financial affairs. Usually the resource allocation distinguishes two components: a strategic component and an operational component of functioning which reflects the workload required by the realisation of a given qualitative and quantitative level of programmed outputs. As far as the strategic component is concerned, the allocation criteria reflect outcomes and impacts produced by the structures, defined coherently with the strategic objectives set by the governance bodies of the university as the foundation of the institutional mission. Then, it is a component with prevailing aims of teaching and research incentives and it can consider similar incentives defined by the academic system. Governance bodies act as interpreters of social expectations affording incentives to operational units in order to optimise the return on the image and financial resources for the university. The incentive objectives can be various, but in practice resources should be focused on a few objectives such as the improvement of degree rates and placement in the work environment, the impact of research on economic and social development, and the ability to attract external funds. By their nature, these performance dimensions are less objective, with long-run implications, and subject to the influence of some unmanageable factors Quality Assurance and Accountability Transparency, academic responsibility, and assessment Accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for the actions, products, decisions and policies of the HEI, encompassing the obligation to report, explain and be transparent and answerable for resulting consequences. The increase in autonomy and responsibility of each HEI requires the development of the following assessment systems (Frazer, 1995): - Institutional assessment, which is the widest form of external assessment, including all aspects of autonomy (statutory, organisational, financial and academic). - Study courses assessment, which is a form of external assessment related to the policies of student entry, study programmes and teaching methods. - Research assessment, which is the external assessment concerning the design, realisation and diffusion of research results. Assessment systems can concern different dimensions of performance like efficiency, effectiveness, quality, and equity. In general, all of these aspects and dimensions are integrated within a wide concept of quality management system. Educational quality can be defined as the conformance to mission specification and goal achievement within publicly accepted standards of accountability and integrity (Bogue and Hall, 2003, 14). 42

44 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Quality management systems can be framed to satisfy different aims, be related to different objects, and utilise different methodologies for different objects and purposes. A useful scheme of classification is representing by the following points: - Quality assurance: the internal system of policies and processes directed to assure the maintenance and improvement of the quality of academic activities. - Quality assessment: the external process of examination and judgment on teaching and learning or research quality. - Quality audit: the process of external observation aimed at guaranteeing that an institution has adopted an effective system of quality assurance. In a diachronic perspective, we can identify four stages in the evolution of quality management: inspection, statistical quality control, quality assurance, and strategic quality assurance (Garvin, 1988). In particular, for our research purposes we observe that the quality assurance system of HE curricula and management can be defined by means of the following criteria (Brennan and Shah, 2000): - Actors and levels involved: internal, at different levels. - Object of evaluation: HE curricula and management. - Modality and frequency of evaluation: for example, by means of key performance indicators (KPIs), interviews with different stakeholders (students, employees, employers etc.) or peer review. Modalities can be different if the evaluation is viewed as a continuous process of planningaction-measurement-evaluation in a perspective of continuous improvement or as an occasional, cyclical, una tantum or with fixed maturities event. - Purposes of evaluation (Trow, 1994). - Support in order to encourage learning processes based on self-assessment. - Evaluation to provide elements useful for the decision-making process. In terms of purposes, an internal supportive review can be conducted by universities, academic units or individuals in order to improve the quality of their activities and induce a learning process in the assessed subjects. In the case of an internal evaluative review, the same activities of evaluation can be used to express judgment and make decisions. In general, subjects that are evaluated are different to decision-makers. Usually the results of these assessments are related to the decisions on resource allocation and have particular behavioural implications. The main approaches to quality assurance, presented in the approximate chronological order of their emergence, are: - Accreditation (the test of goal achievement and improvement) - Rankings and ratings (the test of reputation) - Outcomes (the test of results) - Licensure (the test of professional standards) - Programme reviews (the test of peer review) - Follow-up studies (the test of client satisfaction) - Total quality management (the test of continuous improvement) - Performance measurement (systems of accountability) A strategic vision of quality requires an integrated and systematic approach to quality assurance. The quality assurance system has a relevant impact on HE management in terms of both institutional policies and structures and of culture, reputation and image faced with public opinion. 43

45 Addressing Graduates Career Success from the Higher Education Perspective Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks Accountability and incentive systems The incentives related to a performance assessment can take various forms: monetary, formal status recognition, attribution of the capacity to exert influence. According to the level of performance assessment, incentives can be recognised for each individual and/or organisational unity. Westerheijden (1990) suggests there is an intrinsic contradiction between performance assessment and concession of incentives with a high potential like those related to the funding of academic units. If the results assessment is associated with bonuses and penalties from the financial viewpoint, it is possible to introduce perverse mechanisms of symbolic and opportunistic utilisation of the assessment tools. Trow (1994) takes a similar view by claiming that the link between the funding and assessment of an academic unit is likely to lose valuable opportunities of learning, self-criticism, and continuous improvement. The underlying assumptions are that the prime aim of a performance assessment should be to develop the learning capacity of academic units and the control systems of universities might be focused on activities of self-assessment (quality assurance) and auditing (quality audit) rather than on assessment activities in a strict sense (quality assessment). The introduction of formal processes of self-assessment and auditing ensure that academic units work as cybernetic systems (Birnbaum, 1988; Garvin, 1993) which try to correct themselves through the monitoring of performance indicators (an increase in student drop-out rates; a fall in the rating of the research activities etc.) that activate feedback circuits regarding key problems. The main role of institutional (rector, administrative director) and academic (principals and directors) leadership then becomes to promote adequate learning mechanisms, to check their effective functioning, and to substitute them when the speed of changes makes problems outdated and the key to the interpretation of management (Paletta, 2002). The demonstration by academic units having activated effective self-adjustment mechanisms constitutes a weak form of accountability which is substantially different from a strong meaning connecting selfassessment to a subsequent moment of formal performance assessment. In the former case, the assessment is supportive, while in the latter it is executed with the aim to judge (Trow, 1998) and sparks off coherent processes of resource allocation with bonuses and penalties. Those who hold the latter view wonder: if the assessment is not linked with bonuses and penalties, why would anyone take it seriously? In this case, the performance assessment can be conducted with methods that have a different potential for behavioural incentive. On one hand, zero-based budgeting represents a method with a high potential for incentive since every year the allocation criteria again put under discussion the historical allocations and one restarts from zero; in other terms, the whole funding is allocated on the basis of one (or more than one) of three methods (input, output, outcome/impacts) with the consequence that, for example, drastic reductions in student numbers are reflected by the funding system with a strong penalisation of structures Development of perspectives on the HE managerial system in relation to graduates careers In the last few decades, the external changes and specific characteristics of the institutional and competitive context have highlighted the conditions of uncertainty and risk that universities face around the world. The recent reforms that promoted new public management (value for money, decentralisation, accountability) and the current world economic crisis have led to, also within the university system, a decreasing 44

46 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project dynamic of available resources. Moreover, this trend has increased the competition to attract students, prestigious faculty, potential donors and other public and private financial resources. Following the previous mentioned conditions, the expectations of modern society regarding universities as levers of economic development based on knowledge have created a paradox of doing more and better with less resources (Bok, 2003). Starting with those assumptions, this section analyses the managerial development of the university towards models of strategic management. Universities, even if in different times and ways, and starting from diverse stages, have identified in the development of their management and leadership a fundamental condition for sustainable growth of the organisation (Shattock 1999). More precisely, the introduction of new systems for strategic management of the university has been considered a priority among leaders (Paletta 2004; Martin et al. 2009). They contemplate an idea of investment in managerial culture necessary to dynamically understand the mission, promote the vision and shared values that state directions and make the organisation accountable despite their traditional weak links (Weick, 1976; Cohen & March, 1974). Successful institutions promoted a governance philosophy able to combine the traditional academic values of pluralism, freedom, innovation, decentralisation and participation with a new managerial paradigm based on the growth and diversification of funds (competitive effectiveness), and on the efficient distribution of the available resources (efficiency). Strategic planning, budgeting, performance measurement and accountability represent the managerial references for the new governance. The aim is to pursue conditions of economic balance (revenues higher than costs) and patrimonial solidity for the continuous development of the university s mission in the long run (Clark 1998). For this reason, we need to consider the determinants of student success in terms of not only the students themselves (user), but also from the point of view of the university (a co-producer of learning). Therefore, HE management issues (points a), b) and c) of the key research questions) will need to be addressed in the follow-up field work of the DEHEMS project (analyses, interviews and workshops). Figure 2.5 shows the conceptual framework that we have adopted in order to realise these research objectives. 45

47 Addressing Graduates Career Success from the Higher Education Perspective Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks Figure 2.5: Conceptual framework for studying HE management systems and graduates employability The improvement of HE quality, efficiency and the competitiveness of student employability (undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate) requires some changes to HE management systems. These changes are: In terms of the different instruments of HE management (medium circle): - Decision-making (strategic planning) - Funding and resource allocation (budgeting) - Performance measurement and accountability (transparency, academic responsibility, assessment) - At the different levels of HE management (large circle): - System management (UE, State, Region, Local community etc.) - Institutional management (University, Campus etc.) - Academic management (Faculty, Department, Institute etc.) In order to analyse the role of the university as a context for student success, we need to get inside the university black box with a dual purpose: Firstly, to analyse which actors within the university system actually control the determinants under the jurisdiction of the HEI (the type of HE qualification; study behaviour; study workload; international experiences variables). The answer to this question depends on the degree of centralisation/decentralisation of governance of both the national university system and within each university. This implies that if we want to know the role of such variables, then we should know at what level these decisions are taken at the national level and within individual universities. Secondly, to investigate each of the "Determinants Under the Jurisdiction of HEI Management". One possible way to operationalise the determinants is that you have to consider the process of teaching-learningplacement and the relevant stages of the same. A rational way to consider this process would be as follows: 46

48 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project 1) Study programme characteristics (curriculum, orientation etc.) 2) Selection policies, reception and orientation for students entering 3) Teaching and learning modes 4) Study-related experiences (apprenticeship or internship experience, international study opportunities...) 5) Support services to students (financial aid to students, placement services, housing etc.). These five steps allow us to explore how universities in different countries and different domains make decisions, allocate resources and exercise accountability. In particular, for each stage we should investigate these issues: - Who decides (the teacher, board of studies, faculty, university, state)? - How are decisions taken (individually, collectively, by an executive body or tyrannically etc.)? - Who are the influential actors in the decision-making process (higher hierarchical levels, stakeholders outside the university etc.)? - Which information is used in the decision-making process? (individual perceptions, formal assessment activities etc.) Are there formal accountability systems that follow the decision-making process and results? (reporting, evaluation, auditing etc.) - Do the accountability systems if in place also imply consequences for the structures (termination of a study programme, financing and budgeting) and the people (individual incentives for the effectiveness of teaching, career and remuneration of teachers etc.)? For each internal process, HEI management defines the objectives that are measured and monitored by means of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The internal processes group activities together that can be realised by different subjects within various bodies at different levels (system, institutional, academic). Activities, objectives and indicators can differ from one professional domain to another (in our report these are Business and Economics, Education and Teaching, Medicine, Engineering, Natural Sciences and Sociology and Political Studies). Processes/activities, objectives and indicators could also vary within the various countries involved in this research project Research objectives of the DEHEMS project Important objectives related to HE management systems in our research relate to the usability of the surveys empirical data within management systems, through the measurement and monitoring of Key Performance Indicators concerning various internal processes related with graduates success. In the following, we will describe some general aspects of three managerial functions: strategic planning, budgeting and resource allocation, accountability. These objectives can be summarised in the following conceptual questions, which are elaborated in more detail in the following key sections: (a) how does HE management take employability data and surveys into account; and (b) how should/could HE management take it into account /How much is and should it be evidence-driven? The operationalisation of the five processes holds dual significance for the research objectives: Firstly, on one hand, it allows us to compare the views of students (Reflex and Hegesco data and surveys) with indicators of the activities of universities. For example, with regard to the question: Did you acquire 47

49 Addressing Graduates Career Success from the Higher Education Perspective Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks any study-related work experience during higher education, a possible indicator of performance is offered by the university concerning apprenticeship and internship opportunities. Secondly, on the other side it provides performance indicators (data on users and university activities) to investigate if and how these indicators are used in the three managerial functions analysed: strategic planning, budgeting and resource allocation, accountability. 48

50 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Gabriela Grotkowska, Paul Demeter, Leszek Wincenciak, Tomasz Gajderowicz 3 METHODOLOGY ADOPTED IN THE DEHEMS PROJECT 3.1 INTRODUCTION Research activity carried out in the framework of the DEHEMS project has focused on providing answers to three key questions: - What are the determinants of graduates (early) career success and how do study domains differ in this respect? - How does higher education (HE) management take data and surveys on graduates employability into account and how do study domains vary in this respect? - How should HE management take this data into account, to what extent should educational policy be evidence-driven and how do study domains differ in this respect? Each of the questions requires different information, a different type of data analysis, and a different approach to formulating conclusions. Project activity has been organised in three work packages, each of which uses a different type of methodology, matching the research tasks and the specifics of each research question. The previous chapter outlined the theoretical background to the empirical analysis. In this chapter, we present the data sources and methods used for analysing the information. The chapter has two main parts. After a brief introduction describing the preparatory phase for the key project research activities, the two types of methods used in the project are described. First, we present the processing of the analytical (quantitative) data and describe the research activities mainly carried out under WP5. This part of the research activity was focused on answering questions about the determinants of graduates labour market success. Second, we describe the qualitative analysis and chiefly refer to the different types of interviews carried out under work package 6 and work package7. Thinking in the Western world is characterised by a basic dichotomy: There is an uneasiness that has spread throughout intellectual and cultural life. It affects almost every discipline and every aspect of our lives. This uneasiness is expressed by the opposition between objectivism and relativism, but there are a variety of other contrasts that indicate the same underlying anxiety: rationality versus irrationality, objectivism versus subjectivity, realism versus antirealism. Contemporary thinking has moved between these and other related extremes (Bernstein, 1983: 1). Based on Cartesian dualism which sharply distinguishes between the physical as external reality and thinking as the internal world, this division is reflected in two basic paradigms of scientific thought and methods: the objective, deductive and what is often called quantitative and the subjective, interpretative and frequently labelled qualitative paradigm. This is not the place to give a more extensive description of these two paradigms (Lamnek, 1988; Lueger, 2000). However, their basic characteristics can be mentioned briefly. - From a subjective, interpretative point of view the world is not simply given as an objective reality. Rather, it is subjectively constituted and socially pre-interpreted, formed by the observation schemes of individual actors. In this process, objective and subjective meaning can be differentiated. Subjectively, the actors themselves attribute meaning to their own actions. On the other side, action can be linked with meaning without referring to the psyche of the actor through the obser- 49

51 Methodology adopted in the DEHEMS project vation of observers (Soeffner, 1989; Schütz, 1981). Given this background, the methods used within this paradigm usually have to meet specific criteria like openness, communicativity, contextuality or search for meaning (Lamnek, 1988). - From an objective, deductive perspective, the focus is on the world as a given entity that can be looked at and analysed without referring to subjective interpretation. Archetypically, this view is reflected in the approach of natural science which strives for universal laws and the testing of hypotheses via quantitative, experimental methods. Critical rationalism presupposes an objective reality, i.e. truth. Through a collective effort called science, this truth can be approached more and more. Critique becomes crucial in this approach as it is essential for the core elements like intersubjectively checking results and methods (Popper, 1972; Scholtz, 1991). The methods used in this paradigm have to meet criteria like a connection with theory, an objective research process, an operational definition and the isolation of relevant measures, a rational explanation, and the primacy of falsification (Friedrichs, 1973). As mentioned, these two paradigms are frequently equated with the use of so-called quantitative and qualitative methods. It is true that specific methods have been developed for both of these paradigms that can be used solely within one of these basic approaches. However, there is a substantial overlap of methods that can be used in both paradigms. For example, certain types of text analyses not only use frequency counts of phrases as a major criterion to determine the specific meaning of a text, but they can also be used in deductive as well as interpretative research (Gerson, 1985). Therefore, it is not possible to clearly assign all methods to only one of the paradigms. In essence, the DEHEMS project is rooted in the objective paradigm. Although using elements of qualitative research like interviews and analytical techniques to extract core categories from material, it assumes that there is an objective reality out there. This reality can be researched and, hopefully, generalised. Combining the two approaches leads to a significant synergy effect. In the first stage, basic analysis of the literature and qualitative data leads to the forming of hypotheses. Subsequently, in a second stage these hypotheses are subjected to statistical and econometric procedures. Econometric modelling was used since it allows for extending an easy-to-see correlation analysis into an assessment of the relevance of certain variables for career success in terms of a causal relationship. This is particularly important for forming recommendations for HE management systems. Analytical findings give a better insight into the studied problem if they are enriched and supplemented by the commentary and interpretation of experts and stakeholders. This took place in the third stage. Overall, the methodology used for carrying out the DEHEMS project aims consists of three major elements. They include: - a literature review and basic analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data; - a statistical and econometric analysis of the quantitative data from the REFLEX/HEGESCO and LFS databases; and - an analysis of the qualitative data gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews with HE stakeholders of different types. Each of the elements has its own limitations so their combination has been particularly fruitful and synergistic. The sequence and interrelationship of the different elements of the methodology are presented in Figure

52 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Figure 3.1: An outline of the methodology of the DEHEMS project Review of theoretical and empirical literature (WP 5) Analysis of basic quantitative data (WP 5) Introductory interviews with domain experts (WP 6) Statistical analysis of LFS data for each domain (WP5) Statistical analysis of REFLEX/HEGESCO databases (WP 5) Econometric analysis of REFLEX/HEGESCO databases (WP 5) WP5 Report Interviews with HE experts and stakeholders (WP 6) WP6 Report Interviews with HE and labour market stakeholders (WP 7) WP7 Report The first stage of research activity undertaken in the DEHEMS project was a general description of each of the chosen study domains. This part of the project mainly focused on the institutional context of the HE sector in six countries and was based on legal documents, official information provided by HE institutions and public institutions, empirical literature, and expert knowledge. For the whole project, the spectrum of higher education was divided into six different study domains for further operationalization: - Business and economics (BUS) - Education and teaching studies (EDU) - Engineering (ENG) - Sciences including physical sciences, mathematic and statistics, computing and IT (SCI) 51

53 Methodology adopted in the DEHEMS project - Medicine and pharmacology (MED) - Social sciences: sociology, political science (SOC). Key issues addressed in the initial stage of analytical work related to the identification of study fields covered by the chosen domains, the types of institutions offering those professional domains and acquiring a quantitative overview of each professional domain (number of programmes, number of students, number of graduates, degree of feminisation). In the initial stage, the study programmes were reviewed, with particular attention to the impact of the Bologna Process. A lot of attention was paid to the influence of stakeholders and their role in formulating the content of teaching programmes and their realisation. Finally, the process of the transition between education and the labour market was reviewed. The national domain reports prepared upon the completion of these research tasks have been a basis for key project research activities related to the quantitative and qualitative data analyses. The remaining part of the chapter describes the key elements of the adopted methodology, focussing on the quantitative and qualitative analyses. 3.2 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS Datasets Analyses carried out under WP5 used three main quantitative data sources. These were: - OECD Education statistics; - the Labour Force Survey dataset (2008 survey); and - and the combined REFLEX/HEGESCO dataset. OECD Education statistics were used in the introductory stage to provide researchers with key features of the education specifics of each domain. They were useful in the formulation of detailed research questions (considering the specifics of each domain), to plan the quantitative and qualitative analyses and provide the background to further research activities. The data included information on the shares of different domains in the total student population, its distribution for different sub-domains, the degree of feminisation of the domains and their sub-domains and trends in recent years The Labour Force Survey as a data source for the analysis of graduates labour market situation The EU Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a large sample survey conducted among members of private households. It provides detailed data on employment, unemployment and inactivity (on an annual and quarterly basis). The data can be broken down into many dimensions including age, gender, level of education, and distinctions between permanent/temporary and full-time/part-time employment. Generally, it covers people aged 15 and over in the EU, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) except Liechtenstein and Candidate Countries 9. 9 Based on: accessed

54 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project The LFS sample size is about 1.5 million people every quarter. The sampling rates in each country vary between 0.2% and 3.3%. The LFS is now a continuous quarterly survey. Initially, after 1983, its results covered one quarter per year only (usually in spring), but from 1998 to 2005 it underwent a transition to a continuous survey interviews are distributed across all weeks of the year designed to give reliable quarterly results 10. National statistical agencies are responsible for selecting the sample, preparing the questionnaires, conducting the direct interviews among households, and forwarding the results to Eurostat in accordance with a common coding scheme. The methodology of the LFS is based on a few principles that allow the collected data to be used for comparisons between countries. Key principles include: using the same concepts and definitions, following the International Labour Organisation's guidelines, using common classifications: NACE(rev1), ISCO-88(COM), ISCED, NUTS and recording the same set of characteristics in each country. The LFS dataset may be used for extremely vast types of analyses. The assessment of graduates labour market situation is only one of them. This database offers a lot of useful information concerning the labour market position of graduates, including job characteristics, the job search process etc., as well as their personal characteristics. However, it should also be noted that the LFS dataset has several disadvantages. Although it contains numerous variables referring to employment, they are limited solely to objective measures of employment characteristics. There are no subjective measures of employment satisfaction, or the match between actual employment and earlier graduates expectations. The LFS does not contain any information on the educational process (apart from the year of graduation). Therefore, there is no possibility of illustrating any link between the characteristics of the education process and the labour market situation. In the DEHEMS project the 2008 dataset was used. The total LFS 2008 sample used for the analysis in DEHEMS consisted of data for 28 countries (27 EU member states and Iceland) and included more than 4 million observations. Since the aim of the research in the DEHEMS project is to analyse the graduates labour market situation, the first task in the analytical procedure was to choose the population to be taken into account for further statistical analysis. Among the different characteristics four were taken into consideration: education attainment, age, year of graduation and status of student or apprentice. Generally, the population of interest included higher education graduates who had graduated up to five years before the survey and were not continuing their education. Technically, the following criteria were used for the sample selection: - tertiary education level (ISCED level 5a, 5b, 6); - an age lower than 35 years; - graduation in 2003 or later; and - not being currently (at the time of the survey) a student or an apprentice. Adopting the above criteria restricted the population of interest to 93,547 persons in all 28 countries included in the LSF database. As for the members of DEHEMS, the numbers of cases were the following: - Austria 2,942 - Germany Slovenia 2, Ibid. 53

55 Methodology adopted in the DEHEMS project - Italy 10,011 - Poland 6,429 - Turkey 0 (Turkey was not included in the available dataset). The other issue regarded the definition of study domains in accordance with the DEHEMS criteria and the feasibility of the LFS data. Aggregating the social sciences field of study appeared to be the key problem (the LFS uses the aggregated category for ISCED 300, while DEHEMS distinguishes between business and economics and sociology and political sciences ). Therefore the LFS analysis has been restricted to just five domains: - business, economics, sociology, political science (ISCED=300); - education and teaching (ISCED =100); - engineering (ISCED =500); - medicine and pharmacology (ISCED =700); and - life science (life sciences, mathematics and IT) (ISCED =400). The procedure of operationalizing the domains allowed for the final sample to be extracted that was used for the statistical analysis. As for DEHEMS countries (without Turkey), it consisted of 14,428 observations, while the total sample (for all 28 counties) included 61,182 people. Table 3.1: Structure of the 2008 LFS sample used for statistical analysis of the graduate population 11 Business, economics Education Engineering Medicine Science Total and social sciences 12 Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Remaining countries Total Source: Own calculations based on the 2008 LFS data. 11 The LFS data don't include Turkey. 12 Further breakdown of the subdomains was not possible. 54

56 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project The REFLEX/HEGESCO dataset The key data source for the quantitative analyses of the DEHEMS project was a combined dataset resulting from two large-scale surveys carried out within the REFLEX and HEGESCO projects. Both sources were used in different analyses (including the REFLEX and HEGESCO reports). However, this is the first time that a domain perspective has been adopted for graduates studies with the use of these datasets. Both surveys were based on the same methodology (developed by the REFLEX network). The REFLEX project was carried out between 2004 and 2007 in 16 countries: Austria, Belgium-Flanders, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. The HEGESCO project was carried out two to three years later in five additional countries: Slovenia, Turkey, Lithuania, Poland and Hungary. In each country in both the REFLEX and HEGESCO projects, a representative sample of graduates was drawn from ISCED 5A who obtained their degree five years prior to the time of the survey (in most REFLEX countries this was the 1999/2000 academic year, in the HEGESCO countries the 2002/2003 academic year). Data collection for REFLEX took place in 2005 and that for HEGESCO in The combined dataset included 45,354 observations. The questionnaire sent to sampled graduates by mail focused on educational experiences before and during higher education, the transition to the labour market, characteristics of the first job, characteristics of the occupational and labour market career up to the present, characteristics of the current job, characteristics of the current organisation, an assessment of the required and acquired skills, an evaluation of the educational programme, work orientations, and some socio-biographical information. Information on the study field allows the domain of study (according to the definitions adopted in the DEHEMS project) to be assigned to each respondent. The numbers of observations for each domain are presented in Table 3.2. Table 3.2:Structure of the REFLEX/HEGESCO subsample used for the statistical and econometric analysis Education Science Engineering Medicine Social Business Total sciences and economics Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey Non DEHEMS countries Total Source: Own calculations based on the REFLEX/HEGESCO data. 55

57 Methodology adopted in the DEHEMS project Methods used in the quantitative data analysis Statistical analysis of the LFS data: Graduates labour market situation To describe the graduates labour market situation several LFS variables were used. From the labour market perspective, labour market status (according to the ILO definitions) was a key characteristic. Using these variables, the graduates were divided into three groups: employed, unemployed, and economically inactive persons. For the population of employed graduates, different information of their employment characteristics was analysed. It included: - professional status: self-employed with or without employees, employee, family worker; - economic activity of the employer (NACE); - professional occupation (one-digit level of the ISCO classification); and - permanency of the job. - For the population of unemployed graduates, three characteristics were taken into account: - the fact of the existence of previous employment experience; - the duration of the search for employment; and - the fact of being registered at a public employment office. All the variables were discrete. Therefore, the statistical analysis was based on the analysis of frequencies: for each domain and each country (five DEHEMS countries and the rest of the sample treated as a baseline) the number of observations for each category of a given variable was calculated. Then the structure for each country and/or each category was calculated. Comparing the structures of the particular countries to the baseline values allowed the drawing of conclusions on domain- and country-specific characteristics Statistical analysis of the REFLEX/HEGESCO dataset Although the LFS has been a very informative data source on differences in the employability of graduates of different domains and personal characteristics, the lack of information on the education process has not allowed the drawing of any meaningful conclusions on the determinants of labour market success and the role of education-related factors. This drawback has been overcome by using the REFLEX/HEGESCO dataset. First, a statistical description of the key variables was undertaken. For the discrete variables it was mainly a description of the frequencies and structures, analysed in a comparative perspective for each domain (comparing the DEHEMS countries among themselves and each the DEHEMS country with the EU average). For the continuous variables, basic distribution characteristics were calculated (mean, median, standard deviation etc.). In some cases, correlations between the variables were also checked Econometric analysis of the REFLEX/HEGESCO dataset Statistical analysis of two-variable correlations allows for an assessment of the relationships between variables. However, it does not provide any indication of a causal relationship: the correlation of two variables may result from their relationship with yet a third (unobservable) variable. That is why the key element of quantitative analysis consisted of the econometric modelling of the determinants of labour market success. 56

58 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project If it is additionally based on a theoretical basis, it allows for testing hypotheses on the relationships between the variables, controlling for all other variables in the model. In the case of the analyses in the DEHEMS project, the econometric procedure included several stages. These were: - preparing the dataset; - choosing dependent variable(s) on the basis of the research questions and theoretical considerations; - choosing explanatory variables on the basis of the research questions and theoretical considerations; - choosing the appropriate functional form of the model and the best estimation procedure; - diagnostic tests; and - the interpretation of the results. After merging data from those two data sets and removing problematic observations, the integrated dataset included 43,311 observations for all REFLEX and HEGESCO countries. The dataset consisted of 533 variables, in most cases of a binary or discrete type. While elaborating the data, several problems and difficulties were found. In many cases, the same type of information is given in many country-specific variables (due to differences in institutional settings between countries). Average grade is an example of this problem, with different grade systems in place in different countries. To overcome such problems, relative measures were used instead of absolute ones. Estimating a domain-specific model for every country was hardly ever possible due to the low number of observations in some domains. Therefore, it was decided to focus on the domain perspective and use country dummies only as a control variable (to capture any country-specific influence on the dependent variable). In the case of some variables, the share of missing values was significantly higher than for other variables. For such cases particular attention was paid to deciding whether to include the variable in the model. The data elaboration process included several steps. The first consisted of processing each of the variables potentially useful for the analysis. The no answer and not relevant for this country etc. observations were treated as missing values and were re-coded. In several cases where original variables seemed to contain too detailed information, new variables were created as a result of an aggregation of several variables values. The key problem with the HEGESCO/REFLEX dataset is the number of observations available for a single country and domain. In response, the only sensible approach was to estimate all models separately for each domain, but the same thing could not be done for individual countries. With the dataset ready, the econometric modelling phase followed. The first task in the construction of the econometric model was theoretical research and the identification of dependent and explanatory variables. With the REFLEX/HEGESCO dataset, the literature review helped identify almost 60 independent and almost 30 dependent variables. Preparation of 30 separate econometric models for each domain would be too detailed and meaningless in the context of the DEHEMS project s objectives. To resolve this problem, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) (Jolliffe, 1986) was carried out. 57

59 Methodology adopted in the DEHEMS project The main objective of PCA is to reduce the number of variables for analysis. This is done by finding a relatively small number of components which are linear combinations of the original variables. PCA is based on an analysis of correlations and its key idea is to group variables together that behave similarly and transform the dataset from a large to a relatively small number of variables by reducing the dimensions. This process keeps as much information as possible from the original data variability. Of course, losing some information is a cost, but it is compensated by the increased readability and usefulness of the data. Identified components generally do not have a direct numeric interpretation, but allow us to identify variables of key significance for each of the factors. PCA is a useful tool if a mathematical solution is theoretically interpretable, which is true for the REFLEX/HEGESCO dataset case. A detailed list of originally chosen dependent variables and the process of the reduction of its number to the group of variables used in regression is discussed in Chapter 5. The PCA procedure resulted in six complex variables being chosen. The expert assessment of the values of factor loadings for particular variables allowed for naming them with interpretable labels. These were: - job satisfaction (referring to general indicators of job satisfaction); - appropriateness (referring to the level of matching between graduate s education/skills and their job); - challenge (referring to career developmental opportunities); - job security (referring to employment status and security); - independence (referring to creativeness and autonomy in work); and - work-life balance (referring to the ability to reconcile professional and personal life). As for independent variables, they included all theoretically identified variables in the database that could potentially influence graduates labour market success. The list of variables included 50 items that can be divided into several categories. These were: - social and demographic characteristics; - characteristics of previous education experience (at secondary level); - type of study at the tertiary level; - programme characteristics and teaching modes; - a graduate s behavioural characteristics during their study period; - spatial mobility and work experiences during and after graduation; - characteristics of the job and employer; and - country of origin. A detailed list of the explanatory variables included in the regression analysis is provided in Chapter 5. The next step in the econometric analysis was to choose a functional form and conduct a regression analysis. Since the classical model of linear regression was used, the least squares method was adopted. All in all, 36 regressions were performed one for each dependent variable (each of six factors) and domain. To reduce the number of models, the stepwise procedure (automatically discarding variables in order from the highest level of insignificance) was applied. For control purposes, in order to verify the correctness of the PCA, regressions using the key variables from the original REFLEX/HEGESCO dataset were also carried out. The results were consistent with the output of regressions performed on synthetic factors. In the final stage, standard diagnostic tests were carried out. The problem of heteroscedasticity and omitted variables was tested. In most cases, the functional form was found to be appropriate. When the Ramsey test was negative, an attempt to improve the functional form of the equation was made. In the case of a failure, logit models were used (with a necessary transformation of continuous dependent factors to a bina- 58

60 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project ry variable). In such a case, a maximum likelihood estimation was used. All statistical and econometric analyses were performed using the STATA 11 Statistical package. 3.3 QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS As indicated above, DEHEMS builds on earlier projects (e.g. HEGESCO, REFLEX, CHEERS) which generally approached the topic from (1) a quantitative perspective and (2) focused on graduates. Therefore, one of the major goals of the DEHEMS project was to complement this with (1) qualitative data from (2) the perspective of higher education institutions (HEIs) and higher education stakeholders. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with experts from different fields in HE management. While both data collection and analyses were carried out similarly in the course of WP6 and WP7, the two work packages addressed slightly different target groups. WP6 refers to data from interviews with individuals from HE institutions. On the other hand, the main qualitative data sources for WP7 were higher education stakeholders, i.e. persons external to HE institutions Data collection Sampling Sampling technique Based on preceding analyses of the different HE systems as well as particularities of each domain in the respective countries, representative institutions were selected (governance and accreditation institutions, employers, trade unions or industry associations, student organisations, as well as HEIs and their relevant subunits such as faculties or career centres) in order to approach knowledgeable experts in each institution. For the first contact, a standard letter including a description of DEHEMS and its goals was sent to selected institutions. This was followed up by a telephone call that served the main purpose of gaining additional information about who would be the most suitable person to interview within the chosen institution. In WP 6 either a 3 x 2 approach, i.e. 3 interviewees per 2 institutions, or a 2 x 3 approach, i.e. 2 interviewees per 3 institutions, was chosen depending on the country and domain specifics. This helped us address people in different positions as they could provide different and relevant insights for answering the project s research questions. In contrast to this, WP7 targeted a wider array of institutions and directly approached particular people at specific positions (see below for the details). Each partner then submitted a list of proposed interviewees from the respective country to the lead partner. This list included a description of the chosen institutions as well as a detailed explanation of the experts position, knowledge and experience. This so-called road map served both to internally explain the selection of interviewees to other project partners (particularly the lead partner) and to externally justify the sample composition. Also, it provided an opportunity for the respective lead partner to assure that the sample was comparable across all participating countries. 59

61 Methodology adopted in the DEHEMS project After possible changes to homogenise the sample composition, the suggested list of interviewees was approved by the lead partner. This was followed by a telephone call and/or s to fix a date for a personal meeting to conduct the interview. Sample size In total, 240 interviews were conducted in WP6 with at least six in each of the six domains and in each of the six countries. Hence, WP6 had a strong focus on study domains, whereas WP7 allowed for the particularities in each country while still maintaining the basic distinction between the domains. In WP7, 92 different experts were interviewed including HE generalists, HE governance or policy makers (at least five per country), domain-specific employers (at least five per country), trade union or industry representatives (at least three per country), and student organisation representatives (at least one per country). Looking at the different partner countries in detail, the number of semi-structured interviews that were conducted is as follows (Tables 3.3, 3.4): Table 3.3:Number of interviews among individuals from HEIs by domain and by country Education Science Engineering Medicine Social Business Total by sciences and economics country Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey Total by domain 13 AT: All interviews conducted face-to-face, by two different interviewers (and two assistants for taking notes, when not recorded), 38 interviews recorded. 14 DE: 32 interviews conducted face-to-face and 7 via telephone, three different interviewers; 38 interviews recorded. 15 IT: All interviews conducted face-to-face. 16 PL: All interviews conducted face-to-face, by three different interviewers; 8 interviews were recorded. 17 SI: 27 interviews conducted face-to-face, ten via telephone, by one interviewer; 27 interviews were recorded. 18 TR: All interviews conducted face-to-face, by four different interviewers. 60

62 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Table 3.4: Number of interviews among HE stakeholders by expert type and by country HE generalists, Domainspecific Trade union or Student organi- Total by HE governance or industry represation repre- country policy makers employers sentatives sentatives Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey Total by expert type Interviewee selection strategy in WP6 Consistent with the recommendation of the proposed draft, for each domain the most representative institutions were selected. In all partner countries, the HE management units responsible for curriculum design, quality control, career/alumni services, research strategy, curriculum implementation, or research activities were identified. Consistently, each selected interviewee met one of the following criteria: - a HE manager who is responsible for curriculum design, quality control management, or research strategy, e.g. a programme director; - a full-time member of academic staff who is an expert in the domain, knows the organisational practice and has long experience in research and/or teaching; or - a career/alumni services expert. In this process of selecting the interviewees, the focus was on people who have knowledge of and experience in the specific domain rather than their position or job title (e.g. if a new programme director with little experience had been appointed it made sense to interview the former director even if they no longer occupied an official position). Interviewee selection strategy in WP7 As indicated earlier, WP6 exclusively addressed persons within an HEI in order to obtain insights about how the HEI views the situation. WP7, on the other hand, aimed to contrast these findings with a different perspective and therefore focused on experts external to HEIs. Therefore, stakeholders with different backgrounds were interviewed, including student and employee representatives, relevant employers and professional associations. The other target group of interviewees were HE generalists and policymakers (e.g. HE experts from ministries or supra-university federations) with trade union, industry or employer association representatives occupying a twofold position as stakeholders and as policymakers. 19 AT: All interviews conducted face-to-face, by three different interviewers, 15 interviews recorded. 20 DE: 6 interviews conducted face-to-face and 10 via telephone, by two different interviewers; 15 interviews recorded. 21 IT: All interviews conducted face-to-face. 22 PL: All interviews conducted face-to-face, by three different interviewers, 1 interview recorded. 23 SI: Nine interviews conducted face-to-face, six via telephone, by one interviewer; 9 interviews recorded. 24 TR: All interviews conducted face-to-face, by four different interviewers, 0 interviews recorded. 61

63 Methodology adopted in the DEHEMS project Conducting the interviews Altogether the database consists of 320 interviews with an average duration of approximately 45 minutes. In the respective partner countries, the administration of semi-structured interviews was processed differently. In Slovenia, one interviewer conducted all the interviews, in other partner countries teams of 2 to 4 interviewers did this job. With few exceptions (see Tables 3.3, 3.4), interviews were conducted face-toface and usually at the interviewee s office in order (1) to facilitate finding an interview date quickly and (2) to make the interviewed expert feel at ease and to talk openly. Due to time and other limitations, some of the interviews were conducted by telephone. With few exceptions, experts agreed to have their interview tape recorded with a digital voice recorder. This helped us gather a detailed verbatim record without additional effort, a record that worked as a source to clarify any ambiguity/uncertainty of memory by listening again to the passage in question. This also provided a source for citations from the interviews. As is recommended for expert interviews, the interviewers were well-informed about the HE context in the respective country and domain so that the interviewees would accept them as knowledgeable interlocutors. This led to more in-depth conversations while making it necessary during the analysis to account for contextual factors that sometimes were not explicitly mentioned in the interview. The interview setting allowed for enough flexibility to let the interviewees express themselves quite openly. At the beginning, the interviewer asked an open introductory question in order to loosen up the situation, allowing the interviewee to position him- or herself and share their thoughts. In the case of a respondent deviating from the main topic, more detailed questions were asked. It was experienced by some interviewers that interviewees from HEIs provided more relevant information without detailed questions as compared to the interviewed employers and other stakeholders. Two different interview guidelines were developed for WP6 and WP7 by the respective work package leaders. These interview guidelines were subsequently adapted in the other partner countries. Efforts were made to follow the similar theme lines in all the partner countries when the interviews were conducted in the local languages. Although there was no identical matching between the locally adapted interview guidelines used in the partner countries, extensive discussions at partner meetings and individual coordination activities helped safeguard consistency across the countries. The interviews were conducted in the local languages 25. To manage the gap between the respondents of various partners, a summary of the main findings of each interview was prepared in English. Verbatim transcripts in the original language were not used for further analysis as they would not be understood in other countries and a thematic analysis was considered more relevant Methods used in the qualitative data analysis Coding and summarising individual interviews As quickly as possible after conducting the interviews, the interviewer(s) wrote and submitted English thematic summaries to the lead partner. The length of the summary was set at roughly 800 words. These 25 However, in a few cases interviews were also conducted in a different language. For example, in Austria one interview was conducted in English as German was not the respondent s first language. 62

64 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project summaries covered the major themes of the interview and provided useful quick insights. These summaries were developed only for internal use, serving as an intermediate step in the analysis process. In the earliest phases of the data collection these summaries helped to further improve the interview guidelines. Later, they helped all partners to keep track and get a feel for ongoing DEHEMS project activities in partner countries. In addition, this step supported a self-imposed project discipline for documenting. As per the project plan, two or more researchers worked together in pairs to assign codes. This was considered especially important while analysing the first interviews. Once the set of codes was established, the coding was done by individual researchers. In this regard, each partner wrote summary reports in English based on the analysis for each domain. To further establish inter-rater reliability within each country s dataset, additional efforts were made such as such as double-checking, proof-reading, and discussion of possible interpretations by other researchers Supporting tools To effectively handle the data analysis, an integrated coding scheme including the main categories for data analysis was developed. These categories were first created deductively based on themes identified in a test phase and during first interviews and then supplemented with country-specific categories, to incorporate country particularities. In general, codes were provided to be applied to the data (i.e. to fit findings into general categories) while a process of creation or induction was restricted to country specifics. NVivo software was used for coding the interviews. It helped to share coding schemes and to support project documentation. Because the interviews often resembled in-depth conversations among experts, some contextual information was assumed as common knowledge by the interviewees. The interviewers then would have been ill-advised to address such implicit information in order to maintain a trustful and fruitful conversation atmosphere. Hence, such contextual factors that were not explicitly mentioned during the interview were accounted for (1) in a separate section of each interview summary and (2) in a list of bullet points for each domain (WP6) or country (WP7). This context information was then used in the next step of the analysis Project-level analysis Based on the individual summaries, contexts as well as background information about the respective country and domain, the next step of the analysis consisted of an analysis for each domain across all countries (WP6) and an analysis for each country across all domains (WP7). The findings will be related to the core research questions for the project and will be presented in subsequent chapters. 3.4 CONCLUDING REMARKS This chapter describes the methodology applied in the DEHEMS project. As outlined above, different research questions require different methodological approaches and these differences were taken into account when choosing research methods. On the one hand, quantitative methods were used to analyse existing data, originating from earlier projects and secondary sources, in order to answer questions about the determinants of graduates labour market success. On the other hand, the newly collected data from inter- 63

65 Methodology adopted in the DEHEMS project views specifically conducted for and during the course of this project required a more qualitative approach. By applying this mix of methods this project provides a look at higher education from different perspectives at the same time. 64

66 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Gabriela Grotkowska, Leszek Wincenciak, Tomasz Gajderowicz 4 DETERMINANTS OF GRADUATES LABOUR MARKET SUCCESS ACROSS DOMAINS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS 4.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter describes the results of the study on the determinants of the graduates labour market success across different study domains. The outline of the methodology adopted in this study has been described in the methodological chapter of the report. Basically, it uses regression analysis and the REFLEX/HEGESCO dataset to find evidence of statistical relationships between different respondents characteristics (in terms of their social background, educational history characteristics, employer characteristics) and several measures of their labour market success. The main goal of the analysis is to find similarities and differences between domains of study. The remainder of the chapter is organised as follows. The next section presents the procedure of selection and processing of variables denoting labour market success (a description of the dependent variables). Then the explanatory variables that were selected are discussed. The following part documents empirical findings on the determinants of different labour market success indicators in different domains of study. The chapter ends with conclusions where the main findings are summarised. In the final part, an attempt is made to create a typology of domains of study based on their characteristics in terms of graduates educational paths, their labour market experience and determinants of labour market success. 4.2 DEPENDENT VARIABLES Traditionally, labour market success (not only for graduates) is understood in terms of performing work for payment. Using this conventional and simplified approach one would simply need to look at the fact of whether a respondent has a job (at the microeconomic level) or at the aggregated employment rate (at the macroeconomic level). This traditional approach to measuring labour market success, although still useful, is however insufficient to describe various aspects of the term success and it is necessarily subjective in nature. Given differences in individuals preferences and complex characteristics of modern employment contracts, one can observe different aspects of what is called success. Further, the idea of success can be related to the socio-biographic background of individuals, their values and beliefs but also to the economic context (the business cycle effect). Beside the fact of having a job, other aspects of success that can be taken into consideration are as follows: - types of employment contracts (short-term employment contracts do not give the appropriate level of security, although they may make entry to the labour market at least possible ); - employment stability (frequent job changes prevent the accumulation of job-specific human capital and they can be potentially treated as a bad signal about a candidate s productivity and adaptability for the next employer); - wage levels (low wages provide a low return to education and decrease the incentives to acquire human capital through both formal education and on-the-job training); 65

67 Determinants of graduates labour market success across domains: a comparative analysis - the possibility of human capital accumulation (knowledge gained through work experience is a valuable asset in itself); - extent of the utilisation of the skills and knowledge acquired during one s education (whether it allows one effectively use the skills and knowledge provided by the HEI and to develop them via job experience); - the possibility of personal development (important for the subjective perception of overall development); - career prospects (starting with a low position but with open possibilities might be more beneficial for long-term labour market success than having a relatively high position from the oustet and then facing some form of glass ceiling); - the degree to which an actual job matches a graduate s expectations (important for the subjective perception of satisfaction); and - general satisfaction (work-life balance, which gives enough time for spending with one s family and enough income to enjoy the consumption of a variety of goods and services). The complexity of the notion of labour market success makes it a very difficult object of empirical research. For a comprehensive study of the problem, we need a multi-dimentional dataset offering information on workers preferences, expectations, educational history, job characteristics etc. The REFLEX/HEGESCO dataset is an exceptional example of the data source containing information on many aspects of labour market success. Table 4.1 presents the variables of the REFLEX/HEGESCO questionnaires that were used as proxies to measure labour market success in our study. The table also includes short descriptions of the variables (definition and/or values). In most cases, these variables are taken directly from the original dataset. In some cases, they needed some kind of processing (e.g. the aggregation of different value levels). Table A1 in the Appendix presents basic descriptive statistics of the variables from Table 4.1. Table 4.1: The components of labour market success Variable Description/values Type of contract (contract) 0: fixed term, 1: self-employed, 2: full-time contract Job security (security) The extent to which job security applies to current work 1 (not at all) to 5 (to a very high extent) Job autonomy (auton_apply) The extent to which job autonomy applies to current work 1 (not at all) to 5 (to a very high extent) Earnings (feel_earn) The extent to which high earnings apply to current work 1 (not at all) to 5 (to a very high extent) Social status (soc_stat) The extent to which social status applies to current work 1 (not at all) to 5 (to a very high extent) Years of higher education most A continuous variable appropriate for the current job (need_hiedu) Field of study most appropriate 0: completely different than possessed, 1: own or related for this work (field) Utilisation of knowledge (util) The extent to which knowledge and skills are utilised in the current work 1 (not at all) to 5 (to a very high extent) Demand for more skills The extent to which the current work demands more knowledge and (morethanhave) skills than can actually be offered 1 (not at all) to 5 (to a very high extent) Opportunity to learn new things The extent to which the opportunity to learn new things applies to 66

68 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project (learnnew) the current work 1 (not at all) to 5 (to a very high extent) Good career prospects (career) The extent to which the current work has good career prospects 1 (not at all) to 5 (to a very high extent) Professional role (profrole) The extent to which professional colleagues rely on me as an authoritative source of advice: 1 (not at all) to 5 (to a very high extent) Innovativeness (innov) The extent to which I m playing a role in introducing innovations into the organisation (a product or service, technology, tools or instruments, knowledge or methods) Own deciding (autonomy) The extent to which I m responsible for deciding how I do my own job 1 (not at all) to 5 (to a very high extent) Supervision (supervision) How closely is the performance monitored by one s own supervisor 1 (not very closely) to 5 (very closely) New challenges (challenges_apply) The extent to which the current work offers new challenges 1 (not at all) to 5 (to a very high extent) Work satisfaction (satisfaction) The extent to which a respondent is satisfied with their current work 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied) Choosing the same programme again (choice) Would you choose the same study programme at the same institution? 1: Yes, 2: No, a different study programme at the same institution, 3: No, the same study programme at a different institution, 4: No, a different study programme at a different institution, 5: No, I would decide not to study at all Difrleisurefam* Divergence between one s own valuation and the actual realisation of work features related to leisure time and combining work and family duties Difrpushpower* Divergence between one s own valuation and the actual realisation of work features related to earnings, career prospects, social status, doing something important for society, new challenges * Note The last two variables were created using scoring coefficients after factor analysis of measures of the divergence between the importance of a given job feature and its actual realisation. Those features referred to the importance of: autonomy at work, job security, high earnings, new challenges at work, good career prospects, enough time for leisure activities, social status of the job, the chance to do something important for society, a good chance to combine work with family tasks. Because of the large number of potential explained variables, the strategy adopted in the modelling stage was to reduce the number of dependent variables. Out of all possible methods, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) (Jolliffe, 1986) was chosen. PCA is a way of identifying patterns in data and expressing the data in such a way as to highlight their similarities and differences. The main advantage of PCA is that, once these patterns in the data are found, the data are compressed by reducing the number of dimensions, without much loss of information. This is done by finding a relatively small number of components which are linear combinations of the original variables. The number of factors used in further analysis is determined by the eigenvalues (if higher than one the total variance is explained by a single component). PCA returns a mathematical solution which is not always interpretable. Possible corrections to obtain sensible results and their interpretation are done by a researcher. In the analysis of the REFLEX/HEGESCO dataset the PCA methodology was used twice. First, it was involved in the creation of new variables describing the discrepancy between an actual job s characteristics and respondents expectations (J1 section A and J1 section B of the REFLEX/HEGESCO questionnaires, see the note below Table 4.1). The procedure allowed for replacing 10 variables with two synthetic 67

69 Determinants of graduates labour market success across domains: a comparative analysis factors. On the basis of the PCA procedure results, they were labelled as difpushpower (the divergence between one s own valuation and the actual realisation of work features related to the level of earnings, career prospects, social status, doing something important for society, new challenges) and difleisurefam (the divergence between one s own valuation and the actual realisation of work features related to leisure time and combining work and family duties). All components (listed in the first column of Table 4.1) were used in the factor analysis in order to find composite factors describing labour market success. The number of factors was determined by the standard criterion of eigenvalues greater than unity. As a result of the PCA procedure, six factors were selected. The eigenvalues and factor loadings are presented in the Appendix in Tables A2 and A3. Factors were labelled on the basis of the values of the factor loadings related to given component variables. The subjective assessment of the strength of the impact of particular variables on the value of each factor resulted in the following labels being assigned to each of six factors: - job satisfaction, with the highest correlation with high earnings, social status of the job, the opportunity to learn new things, career prospects, new challenges faced at work, job satisfaction, a match with expectations; - education appropriateness (matching education and skills), with the highest correlation with variables capturing years of education and field of study most appropriate for the job, utilisation of knowledge and skills, and the fact of whether a respondent would choose the same programme again given such a possibility; - job as a challenge (career development opportunities), with the highest correlation with: variables capturing the innovative character of the job, the extent to which the current work demands more knowledge and skills than the respondent can offer; - job security (employment status and security), with the highest correlation with variables capturing job security and the type of employment contract; - independence (creativeness and autonomy of work), with the highest correlation with variables capturing the extent of freedom in deciding how to do one s own job, the level of performance monitoring and work autonomy; and - work-life balance, with the highest correlation with variables capturing the discrepancy between the desired leisure and the actual features of one s current employment. 68

70 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Figure 4.1: Histograms of six index variables of labour market success (a) Job satisfaction (b) Appropriateness of education (c) Job as a challenge (d) Job security (e) Independence (f) Work-life balance Source: Own elaboration based on the REFLEX/HEGESCO data. After these six composite variables were generated, they were standardised to have a zero mean and unitary standard deviation. This feature is very convenient for regression analysis where many of the explanatory variables are dummies. The estimated value of the parameter for a given dummy variable shows the influence of a discrete change in the dummy variable on the standard deviation of the variable being explained, for instance job satisfaction. Let us use an example to explain the interpretation of the estimated parameters: a value of for the variable Gender (where 0 denotes women and 1 denotes men) in the 69

71 Determinants of graduates labour market success across domains: a comparative analysis business domain would lead to the conclusion that men have a statistically higher value of job satisfaction by 0.11 of the standard deviation than women (controlling for all other characteristics in the model). The distribution of six factors is presented with a histogram in Figure 4.1 and descriptive statistics for each dependent variable for all study domains is available in the Appendix (Table A4). 4.3 EXPLANATORY VARIABLES The next step of the analysis was to choose the explanatory variables. They were determined on the basis of theoretical considerations, a review of the empirical literature on the determinants of graduates professional success and the information available in the HEGESCO and REFLEX databases. The explanatory variables included in the regression analysis may be divided into eight groups describing different characteristics of graduates. Some of variables were included in order to check their impact on graduates labour market success (a causal relationship based on theoretical considerations). The others were included just as control variables (co-incidence without a clear causal relationship). The first group included basic sociobiographic characteristics such as the respondent s gender, number of the respondent s children (with 0 meaning a lack of children, 1 one child, 2 two children and 3 three or more children), country of origin (with seven categories, coding six DEHEMS countries and all the remaining countries in the sample), the level of the graduate s parents education (coding the highest level of education of either of the respondent s parents) and the fact of whether the respondent is living alone or sharing a flat (with parents, flat mates, a partner etc.). The second group of variables included the respondent s study process characteristics. These were variables coding the study process duration, the type of study programme (part-time or full-time studies), the study programme s characteristics in terms of providing access to a PhD programme (bachelor or master programme), the fact of pursuing an additional HE programme during studies and characteristics of the education programme obtained before undertaking HE (general secondary education or vocational secondary education). In most cases, the variables describing the respondents study process were derived from the database in a straightforward manner. However, particular attention was paid to the division between first- and second-cycle studies. Due to the large differences between the countries, different types of diplomas were divided into two broad categories: those giving access to PhD programmes and those not giving such access. The third group of variables included a respondent s study programme characteristics. Since, unlike the issues covered in the previous paragraph, it is not realistically possible to collect any hard evidence data on graduates programme characteristics, the information in this section was based on the graduates subjective assessment of their study programme. The following dimensions were included: - the extent to which a study programme has been a good basis for the graduate s personal development; - the extent to which a study programme has been a good basis for performing the graduate s current work tasks; - the extent to which a study programme has been a good basis for starting work; - the extent to which a study programme was academically prestigious; - the extent to which a study programme may be considered to be known by employers; 70

72 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project - the extent to which a study programme may be considered to be demanding; - the extent to which a study programme may be considered to be a broadly focused programme; - the extent to which a study programme may be considered to be a vocationally-oriented programme; and - the extent to which students enjoyed freedom in shaping their study programme. For each question, a respondent assessed the given programme characteristic by choosing a number from 1 ( Not at all ) to 5 ( To a very high extent ). The following group of independent variables was closely related to the previous one. It included descriptors of the teaching modes used during the study period. The values of the variables were based on the graduates assessment and their answers to questions on the extent to which different teaching models and tools were emphasised in the study programme. For each question, a respondent assessed the given programme characteristic by choosing a number from 1 ( Not at all ) to 5 ( To a very high extent ). The respondents assessed the use of the following teaching modes: - multiple choice exams; - lectures; - oral presentations; - written assignments; - problem-based learning; - having the teacher as the main source; - theories and paradigms; - internships and work placements; - research projects; and - group assignments. The fifth group of questions referred to the graduates personal attitudes to the studies during their academic career. The questions included not only an answer to the question on the average grade, but also questions on the effort put into the study process (striving for the highest marks or extra work put into studies above what was required). In the case of an average grade, due to the differences between the types of grading systems in the different countries a question on the relative grade was used ( How do you rate your grade compared to other students who graduated from your study programme? ). The sixth group of variables described the graduates international mobility experience during the study period and after graduation. It was described with four dummy variables coding the fact of spending time (at least one month) abroad: - during the study period for study purposes; - during the study period for work purposes; - after graduation for study purposes; or - after graduation for work purposes. A similar set of data described the graduates experience with work before and during the study period. Four dummy variables coded the fact of having had any work experience: - before the higher education period with a job not related to later studies; - before the higher education period with a job related to later studies; - during the higher education period with a job not related to the study programme taken; or - during the higher education period with a job related to the study programme taken. 71

73 Determinants of graduates labour market success across domains: a comparative analysis The final set of variables included in the regression of the graduates labour market success indicators referred to the current job characteristics. They included: - four questions on the level of competence required by the current job (in the aspect of analytical thinking, coordination of others work, teamwork, and language skills), where the respondent chose from one of three answers: from 1 ( Low ) to 3 ( High ); - four questions on the firm s characteristics: - does the organisation compete mainly by price or by quality? - how strong is the competition in the market in which the organisation operates? - is the job considered to be stable? - a question about wthether the organisation had been undergoing a serious change since the respondent had started working there (a major change in work tasks, reorganisation, a merger or takeover by another firm, large-scale layoffs of personnel, relocation to another region). All in all, the set of explanatory variables consisted of 48 variables that were used in the regression of six dependent variables described in the previous section. Descriptive statistics of these variables are presented in the Appendix in Table A5. Figure 4.2: Modelling labour market success in the DEHEMS project Explanatory variables (personal characteristics, family background, learning process, teaching characteristics, employment characteristics) Methods: linear regression and logistic regression Dependent variable (labour market success) Source: Own elaboration. 4.4 ESTIMATION PROCEDURE Having chosen the dependent variables and explanatory variables, regression analysis was carried out. Despite efforts aimed at reducing the number of dependent variables (without losing information contained in the dataset), the regression procedure consisted of the estimation of six models with each of six synthetic dependent variables indicating different aspects of labour market success. In the regression analysis a classical model of linear regression was used and the least squares method was adopted. The estimated functional form was as follows: for 72

74 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project where: dependent variable (j-th labour marker success factor obtained from the conducted Principal Component Analysis, for each domains), set of coefficients to be ed, set of explanatory variables, random error. In total, 36 regressions were performed one for each dependent variable (each of six factors) and for each study domain. To reduce the models (to retain only statistically significant variables), the stepwise procedure (automatically discarding variables in order from the highest level of insignificance) was applied. In the final stage, standard diagnostic tests were carried out. The problem of heteroscedasticity and omitted variables was tested. In most cases, the functional form was found to be appropriate. When the Ramsey test was negative, an attempt to improve the functional form of the equation was made. In the case of a failure, logit models were used (with a necessary transformation of continuous dependent factors into a binary variable). In such a case, a maximum likelihood estimation was used. All statistical and econometric analyses were performed using the STATA 11 statistical package. 4.5 REGRESSION RESULTS: A COMPARATIVE APPROACH The results are presented in the following manner: for every group of explanatory variables, we report the list of variables that have a significant influence on the dependent variables. We focus on the significance and direction of the relationship without paying much attention to the actual value of the parameter. This approach is adopted comparatively for all domains. In order for the message to be clear, each paragraph describing a group of explanatory variables is divided into two parts, the first one describes the impact of the explanatory variables on job satisfaction, while the other sums up the findings on the influence of independent variables for the other labour market success factors described above. The special role of job satisfaction is related to the fact that it was found to be the key indicator of labour market success (it had the highest eigenvalue in the PCA procedure). The following description includes different expressions referring to the relationship between the explanatory variables and labour market success factors. It is said that a particular variable impacts on, determines, influences, increases etc. another variable. We use it to keep the description short, although it should always be kept in mind that the regression results show a significant correlation between those variables keeping other characteristics under control. In many cases, this may mean a potential causal relationship, but that is not always the case Sociobiographic characteristics Job satisfaction According to the DEHEMS project s goals, its key aim was to describe the differences in labour market success factors across domains. However, before we move on to the domain differences, it is interesting to notice differences in the level of labour market success variables between countries. Generally, working in Slovenia and in Italy is on average associated with lower job satisfaction when compared to those who work in non-dehems countries (keeping other characteristics under control, as noted above). On the 73

75 Determinants of graduates labour market success across domains: a comparative analysis other hand, job satisfaction for those working in Poland is higher than in non-dehems countries. This may be linked to the relatively rapid increase in salaries, and with the high rate of economic growth in that country. Taking a closer look at the differences in job satisfaction between domains, it can be seen that living in Poland positively determines job satisfaction factors in Education and Science. Meanwhile, living in Italy or Slovenia is a negative predictor for job satisfaction in Science and Engineering. Currently, there is a lot of emphasis on gender equality in both society and the labour market. However, the findings of this study contradict the thesis that gender plays a meaningful role as a determinant of labour market success. In particular, it was not generally confirmed that women enjoy a lower probability of achieving labour market success than men. Only in one study domain (Business), do men appear to have greater job satisfaction compared to women. In other domains, gender is not a significant predictor of job satisfaction. Moreover, having children is not significant in most cases, but in the Business domain having three or more children positively determines the job satisfaction factor. Parents education in general cannot be treated as a significant job satisfaction predictor. Only in two domains (Medicine and Sociology) does parents higher education (ISCED5+6) positively determine job satisfaction. In the analysis it was also considered whether the fact that a respondent lives alone or shares a flat (with parents, flat mates, partner etc.) is significant for labour market success. It was found that only in the Business domain does living with one s parents negatively determine job satisfaction, and it was deemed non-significant in all the other domains Other labour market success factors As for the other factors of labour market success, we present only the most interesting results. First of all, an important role is played by the country of origin. The fact of working in Slovenia, Turkey and Poland is generally associated with a stronger match of education and skills (relative to non-dehems countries). Career development opportunities are statistically higher if a respondent works in Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Turkey, but lower in the case of Italian residents. On the other hand, employment status and security are relatively lower for respondents from Germany and Slovenia. Finally, creativeness and autonomy at work are lower in Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Turkey compared to non-dehems countries. Unlike job satisfaction, in the case of career development opportunities gender seems to be a significant predictor of labour market success. In the case of this factor, being a man increases the chances of labour market success in all domains except for Science. In the case of Engineering and Education, it also increases one s employment status and job security. On the other hand, being a man is associated with a lower level of creativeness and autonomy at work in Business, Education and in Medicine. A higher level of parents education positively impacts the extent of the matching of one s education and skills in the current job in the domains of Science and Engineering. Moreover, in Engineering, the higher education of one s parents is also associated with a better work-life balance. 74

76 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Study process characteristics Job satisfaction A very important conclusion of the analysis is that the study process characteristics are mostly not significant for the current satisfaction at work. However, there are some exceptions. In Science, vocational education gained at the secondary level decreases later job satisfaction, while in Medicine it has a positive impact. In the Engineering domain, part-time studies decrease job satisfaction in later stages. In Sociology being a graduate from a programme providing direct access to doctorate-level studies strongly and positively increases job satisfaction. This might be related to the fact that (which is result from other studies) relatively many graduates continue their education at PhD level in this domain, which may give higher job satisfaction than starting a typical business career Other labour market success factors Although the variables from this group hardly had any impact on job satisfaction, they greatly affected the remaining labour market success factors. In the Education domain, a study programme providing access to doctorate studies strongly negatively determines the job security variable. The completion of a parallel higher education programme has a similar effect. As for creativity and autonomy at work, being a graduate of a vocationally-oriented higher education programme has a positive impact on Education graduates labour success. In the Science domain, the completion of a vocational secondary education programme negatively influences one s employment status and job security, along with study programmes providing access to doctorate studies, which have the same negative impact. However, a programme providing access to PhD studies positively impacts the matching of education and skills. As for the Engineering domain, job security is negatively determined by taking an extra higher education programme and the study duration. However, together with one s vocational secondary education these variables positively determine the declared job creativity and autonomy. Medicine is a very specific field of study as in this domain the achievement of extra qualifications (completion of vocational secondary education programmes and additional higher education programmes) in most cases increases all determinants of professional success. As for the type of study programme, one providing direct access to doctorate studies has a positive impact on the appropriateness and level of challenge at work but negatively influences job security and independence. In the Social Sciences domain, a programme providing direct access to doctorate studies is extremely impactful on professional success. Even though, as was previously noticed, it positively impacts job satisfaction, it negatively influences the work-life balance. The completion of vocational secondary education has a positive impact on creativeness and autonomy in the current work. In the Business domain, secondary vocational or additional higher education as well as a longer study duration positively impact the feeling of independence in the current work. The completion of a programme providing direct access to a doctorate has a positive influence on one s career development opportunities and work appropriateness, but a negative one on employment status and security. 75

77 Determinants of graduates labour market success across domains: a comparative analysis Study programme characteristics Job satisfaction In the perspective of the empirical application of this analysis results, the role of study programme characteristics in determining labour market success is a key issue. This is one of the few aspects analysed in the study that at least to some extent are under control of HEIs management. In fact, some of the study programme characteristics were found to be important and strong predictors of job satisfaction. Moreover, the significant determinants are different for each study domain. In the Education domain, respondents reported a higher level of job satisfaction if they perceive their study programme to be a good basis for their personal development, which goes along with the fact that they were flexible in composing their own programme. However a highly negative effect on current satisfaction in work stems from the fact that a programme was regarded as demanding. A study programme which is regarded as a good basis for performing the current work tasks increases job satisfaction in Science. On the other hand, the vocational orientation of studies is associated with lower job satisfaction. The completion of a programme which was perceived as academically prestigious or a good basis for personal development has a positive impact on job satisfaction in the field of Engineering. In the Medicine domain, the study programme characteristics have a strong impact on job satisfaction compared to other domains. Study programmes which are regarded as demanding and are perceived as a good basis for starting work strongly increase one s job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is statistically lower when respondents declared their programme to have been broadly focused. In Social Science, the key programme features supporting job satisfaction are employers familiarity with the programme content and the fact that it is regarded as demanding. Thus, this finding goes hand in hand with the results of the qualitative research done in the DEHEMS project which indicate that the labour market in this domain is extremely tough. Employers familiarity with the programme can possibly be treated as a signalling device while a demanding programme could be used as a screening technique by employers recruiting new candidates for jobs. In Business, the most important positive predictor of job satisfaction is employers familiarity with the content of the programme. Similarly, respondents who reported that their study programme has been a good basis for performing their current work tasks achieved higher job satisfaction Other labour market success factors In all study domains, assessing the study programme as a good basis for performing the current tasks is positively related to the level of appropriateness of the education for the performed tasks. In the case of the Business domain, appropriateness is also positively influenced by whether the programme was regarded as prestigious. Study programmes seen as offering a good basis for personal development seem to be related with a lower level of job security and creativeness and autonomy at work in Medicine. On the other hand, they seem to increase job security in Sociology. 76

78 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Study programmes regarded as demanding decrease creativeness and autonomy at work in the field of Education. At the same time, in Engineering demanding programmes decrease job security, career development opportunities, and a feeling of independence in one s current work. Taking this into consideration, it seems that in this domain more practically-oriented programmes (less demanding but being a good basis for performing current tasks) lead to higher levels of labour market success factors. To sum up, study programme characteristics have been found to be extremely interesting predictors of different aspects of labour market success across domains. In particular, it is worth noting that in many cases they seem to be positively correlated with some aspects of career success while being negatively correlated with other dependent variables. This is most evident in the Medicine domain where variables which increase job satisfaction (the fact that the programme is a good basis for starting work and is regarded as demanding) negatively influenced the matching of education and skills and perceived employment status and security. Similarly, in Medicine when a programme is regarded as a good basis for personal development it strongly negatively impacts the later possibility of having a job with a high level of creativity and autonomy Teaching modes Job satisfaction The impact of the variables concerning teaching modes on job satisfaction significantly differs between domains. For example, in Sociology, Engineering and Science teaching modes variables remain insignificant in most cases. Meanwhile, in the Education domain some of them seem to be important: intensive use of written assignments and group assignments or regarding the teacher as the main source of information are positive predictors of job satisfaction. However, in this domain a focus on theory and paradigms has the opposite effect. In Medicine, a large number of lectures and projects or problem-based learning negatively influence job satisfaction (in fact the high number of lectures is a strong negative predictor of all analysed labour market success factors). The only factor with a positive impact on job satisfaction is the intensity of the use of internships and work placements as a teaching mode. Finally, in the Business domain a great number of group assignments has a positive impact on professional success factors, while too many oral presentations determine job satisfaction negatively. The results seem to indicate a strongly positive role for more interactive modes of teaching and reducing traditional methods like lectures Other labour market success factors Internships and work placements have a positive impact on the match of education and skills in the domains of Education, Engineering, and Sociology, while a negative influence is revealed by too great a number of multiple choice exams in the domain of Business and too much theory and paradigms in the domain of Medicine. As for career development opportunities, teaching modes do not have any significant influence on any domain (with the exception of Medicine). Employment status and work security are negatively impacted by the high number of internships and work placements in the Education domain. Variables concerning the teaching modes significantly determine the work-life balance in the domains of Education and Sociology. In Education, studies where the teacher was the main source of information strongly and positively determine the compatibility of private life with work. In the Sociology domain, 77

79 Determinants of graduates labour market success across domains: a comparative analysis graduates who reported a large share of group work during their studies now face a less satisfying worklife balance. Independence at work is strengthened in Science and Sociology by the high extent of the use of theories and paradigms. This could arise from the fact that studies based on theoretical knowledge very often shape critically and independently thinking people. On the other hand, studies based on the theory and paradigms are often preparing students to carry out research or managerial tasks activities with a higher level of independence Personal attitude Job satisfaction It is difficult to generalise the results on the impact of different study attitudes on specific professional domains. However, it may be said that high grades (compared to the average), striving for the highest possible marks and extra work (above what was required to pass the exam) decrease job satisfaction. This negative impact is particularly strong in the field of Medicine. High grades increase job satisfaction only in the field of Business. It is not easy to explain this observation. One hypothesis may point to the alleged link between attitude during the education period and expectations for a later professional career. It may be expected that students who exert much effort in their studies have high expectations of their future career. Potential disappointment may lead to lower job satisfaction. The reverse relationship in Business may be a signal that this is the only domain where labour market awards intensive work during education, when a high average grade distinguishes a given candidate from others in the recruitment process Other labour market success factors The study results show that study behaviour hardly has any impact on other indicators of professional success in the domain of Education. Achieving higher grades than average during one s studies strongly decreases career development opportunities in Medicine and the work-life balance in the domain of Sociology, although it increases the work-life balance in the Business domain. Striving for the highest possible marks is a negative predictor of job security in Science but positively determines the work-life balance in Sociology and the challenging level of current work in the Medicine domain. Working more than what was required to pass exams decreases most of the labour market success factors (other than job satisfaction) in the field of Business International mobility experience Job satisfaction Generally, an experience abroad cannot be treated as a significant predictor of job satisfaction. In fact there is a positive correlation between labour market success factors and mobility but, when controlling for other variables, the results are not significant. This correlation can be explained by the fact that those who travel abroad possess many characteristics that appear to be positive determinants of their labour market success. Therefore, mobility experience is not a significant determinant of their success. Nevertheless, we found that spending time abroad after graduation for work purposes in fact increases job satisfaction in the Business domain. However, it decreases job satisfaction in Medicine and Engineering. 78

80 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Other labour market success factors When it comes to other labour market success factors, spending time abroad also has hardly any impact. In the Engineering and Medicine domains, spending time abroad during one s studies for study reasons negatively impacts on later job security and the work-life balance. On the other hand, creativeness and autonomy at work is increased in Science by travel during studies as well as after earning a diploma. It can be said that out of all studied domains in the DEHEMS project only in Business does spending time abroad generally positively determine later labour market success factors Experience with work Job satisfaction Similarly to international mobility, experience with work has relatively little influence on job satisfaction in all domains. The only exception is the Science domain where work experience slightly increases job satisfaction Other labour market success factors In the case of factors other than job satisfaction, in most cases work experience is insignificant for labour market success. Study-related work experience increases career developmental opportunities in three domains (Education, Science, and Engineering) and increases matching education and skills in two domains (Medicine and Business). It should be noted that in the Business domain, study-related work experience increases the appropriateness of education and skill matching and has a slight influence on career development opportunities and creativeness and autonomy at work. However, in Science study-related work experience has a positive impact on the level of challenges and job security Current job characteristics Job satisfaction Based on the findings of the econometric modelling we can sum up that the characteristics of one s current work relatively strongly determine their professional success. Some of them have a positive impact on job satisfaction regardless of the study domain. For example, the high extent of the use of analytical thinking at work is strongly correlated with high job satisfaction. A similar relationship has been found in case of speaking and writing in a foreign language. The requirement of coordinating activities positively predicts job satisfaction in all domains but Education, and the requirement of working productively with others results in greater job satisfaction for graduates of Business, Medicine, and Engineering. For the professional success not only do the characteristics of the performed tasks have an impact but so too do the characteristics of the market environment of the organisation. Working in a firm which competes mainly by quality gives greater job satisfaction in all analysed domains except for Education. How- 79

81 Determinants of graduates labour market success across domains: a comparative analysis ever, working in an organisation prospering in a market with strong competition gives higher job satisfaction only in the Science domain and decreases job satisfaction in Medicine and Engineering Other labour market success factors When analysing labour market success factors other than job satisfaction the impact of the fact that the current job requires an ability for critical thinking, an ability to coordinate activities and an ability to speak and write foreign languages is no longer positive. In the majority of domains, the requirement to write and speak foreign languages decreases the work-life balance (a possible explanation is the fact that speaking foreign languages is often associated with travelling abroad, which can possibly interrupt family life). If the current job requires an ability for analytical thinking, then the matching of education and skills with job requirements and career developmental opportunities are higher in Engineering and Business. On the other hand, working in an organisation where analytical thinking is required decreases the work-life balance in these two domains. When it comes to the characteristics of organisations where respondents work, in the Business, Engineering, Science, and Education domains, if the organisations operates in a stable market, the employment status and security of the respondents is relatively higher. However, the stability of the market environment decreases creativeness and autonomy at work, particularly in the field of Engineering. Working in an organisation which operates in a market with strong competition positively influences career developmental opportunities in Engineering and Medicine, but at the same time it decreases the worklife balance. In all domains, aside from Medicine and Sociology, in the case of serious changes at the respondent s workplace, the level of challenge associated with the job is significantly higher. However, as one might expect, it negatively impacts the work-life balance, particularly in Medicine and Business. 4.6 GRADUATES LABOUR MARKET SITUATION ACCORDING TO THE LFS: A CROSS-DOMAIN COMPARISON The LFS data confirm conclusions from the analysis of the other data sources, namely that fields of study differ in terms of feminisation: it is the highest in the case of Education and Medicine (with more than three-quarters of labour force members aged 30 years or less 26 being women). On the other hand, Engineering and Science are domains dominated by men, with the share of men among graduates being almost 76% in Engineering and 55% in Science. From the labour market perspective, labour market status (according to the ILO definitions) is a key characteristic. It allows us to distinguish groups of employed, unemployed, inactive persons among the population of interest. Generally, in five DEHEMS countries the employment rate among the graduates of five analysed domains differed from 76.3% in Business and Social Science up to 86.3% in Engineering, with the coefficient of variation not exceeding 5%. Graduates in Engineering were also characterised by the lower share of inac- 26 The precise definition of the population under analysis was included in the methodological chapter. 80

82 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project tive persons in the total population (6.6%). The share of the unemployed was found to be the highest in the case of Business and Social Science. For the population of employed graduates, different information about their employment characteristics was analysed. The most important areas included: - professional status: self-employed with or without employees, employee, family worker; - occupation (one-digit level of the ISCO classification); - economic activity of the employer (NACE sector); and - permanency of the job. Generally, most graduates (84.8% on average) work as an employee, with 14.3% working as selfemployed. These shares do not vary much between domains, except for education where more than 94% are working under an employment contact. As for the occupation of the graduates, generally the majority of them work as professionals (almost 44% on average) or technicians (28%). This structure is typical for Education, Engineering and Science. However, in the case of two domains we observe a different structure: in Medicine graduates are divided between professionals and technicians almost equally (with a slightly higher share of the latter category), while in Business and Social Science graduates find a job mostly in three groups of occupations, including professionals (32.2%), technicians (29.3%) and clerical support workers (20.2%). Other professional groups have a minor share in graduates employment. As for the economic activity of the employer, in the case of two domains (Education and Medicine) a strong concentration of graduates is observed. In Education, more than 57% of graduates work in Education and 12.1% in Human health and social work with other NACE sections having significantly smaller shares of graduates employment. A similar situation is observed in Medicine, where almost threequarters of graduates find job in Human health and social work and more than 10% in Trade; repair of motor vehicles. Graduates of Engineering work mainly in Manufacturing (31.1%) or Professional, scientific and technical activities (22.8%) or Construction (12.2%). Graduates of the other domains (Science and Business and Social Science) are more dispersed among different sectors of the economy. Science graduates work mainly in Information and communication (17.7%), Manufacturing (16.5%) and Education (15.6%). In contrats, graduates from the domain of Business and Social Science work in Professional, scientific and technical activities (15.5%), Public administration and defence; social security (13.9%) and Trade; repair of motor vehicles (13.4%). Finally, the permanency of graduates jobs was also examined. Generally speaking, 69% of them have a permanent job. However, some differences between domains occur: in Engineering the share reached 78.5% while in Education it was 60.7%. - For the population of unemployed graduates, three dimensions were taken into account: - the duration of their search for employment; - the fact of being registered at a public employment office; and - the reason for becoming unemployed (dismissal or leaving a job). Among the unemployed graduates, almost half of them (49%) declare they had been searching for a job for less than 6 months, while a little more than one-third had been searching for employment for more than 12 months. Fields of study differ substantially in terms of the time spent searching for a job. In Education and Engineering, the share of graduates looking for a job for less than 6 months is substantially 81

83 Determinants of graduates labour market success across domains: a comparative analysis higher than the average: with two-fifths of the unemployed graduates looking for a job for more than 6 months. At the same time, graduates of Education and Science are more often than average registered in a public employment office: in each domain of study the share of the unemployed registered at an employment office exceeds 50%. On the other hand, in Engineering and Medicine unemployed graduates usually look for work while not being registered and not receiving any benefits or assistance. As for the reason for becoming unemployed, the majority of the unemployed graduates have never been in employment (56.6% on average) with the share ranging from 46.7% in Education to 62.8% in Engineering. Among those who have some employment experience, three-quarters had been dismissed or had lost a job as a result of an employment contact coming to an end. Only 10.6% of the unemployed graduates declared they became unemployed because they voluntarily quit. The share of this group in the total population of the unemployed ranges between 7.5% in Engineering to 15.2% in Education. Table 4.2: Graduate population in the LFS by domain of study: Labour market status Business 27 Education Engineering Medicine Science Total Gender Male Female Labour market status Employed Unemployed Not active Source: Own elaboration based on LFS 2009 data. 27 Business domain from LFS data includes also the domain of social sciences. 82

84 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Table 4.3: Employed graduate population in the LFS by domain of study: Key characteristics BUS 28 EDU ENG MED SCI Total Professional status Self-employed Employee Family worker Large group of occupations Managers Professionals Technicians Clerical support workers Service and sales workers Agricultural workers Craft and related trades Plant and machine operators Elementary occupations Economic activity sector Agriculture Mining and quarrying Manufacturing Electricity, gas Water supply Construction Trade; repair of motor vehicles Transportation and storage Accommodation and catering Information and communication Financial and insurance activities Real estate activities Professional, scientific and technical activities Administrative and support service activities Public administration and defence; social security Education Human health and social work Arts, entertainment, recreation Other service activities Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies Permanency of the job Permanent job Temporary job Source: Own elaboration based on LFS 2009 data. Note: BUS = Business, EDU = Education, ENG = Engeneering, MED = Medicine, SCI = Science. 28 Business domain from LFS data includes also the domain of social sciences. 83

85 Determinants of graduates labour market success across domains: a comparative analysis Table 4.4: Unemployed graduate population in the LFS by domain of study: Key characteristics BUS 29 EDU ENG MED SCI Total Duration of job seeking Less than 6 months months months or more Registration at a public employment office Registered and receiving benefits or assistance Registered but not receiving benefits or assistance Not registered but receiving benefits or assistance Not registered and not receiving benefits or assistance Reason for entering unemployment Never in employment Last employment more than 3 years ago Last employment less than 3 years ago, dismissed or end of contract Last employment less than 3 years ago, voluntarily quit Source: Own elaboration based on LFS 2009 data. Note: BUS = Business, EDU = Education, ENG = Engeneering, MED = Medicine, SCI = Science. 4.7 CONCLUSIONS Summing up all the regression findings, it can be stated that significant differences are found in the determinants of professional success across study domains. These differences refer both to the statistical significance of particular variables and to the sign of the coefficients. The reasons for this diversity are a key issue when answering the research questions of the DEHEMS project. One of the possible answers links differences in career success determinants to the dissimilarities in the characteristics of the labour markets where graduates from different domains of study search for work. Differences in labour market conditions reflect various aspects of labour demand such as employers requirements, working conditions, workers rotation etc. Despite all the detected differences between study fields, it is evident that certain domains have some similarities. In order to confirm the presence of certain common traits between domains, a k-means clustering procedure was carried out. This clustering procedure confirmed that there are three groups of graduates similar in terms of their broadly defined educational experience and labour market success factors. One group is made up of graduates of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (which may be labelled analytical domains). The other group includes graduates of Social Science and Business. Education graduates constitute a distinct group. The table below presents the results of the clustering procedure. 29 Business domain from LFS data includes also the domain of social sciences. 84

86 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Table 4.5: Typology of study domains according to the determinants of labour market success Cluster number Label Analytical Educational Social sciences and Number of respondents domains studies business Education 5,160 x Science 4,028 x Engineering 7,333 x Medicine 2,629 x Social Sciences 2,429 x Business and Economics 8,598 x Total 30,177 13,990 5,160 11,027 Share in total population (%) Source: Own elaboration based on the REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Graduates of the analytical domains generally face a supply-driven labour market. It means that they usually do not have any serious problems finding job which matches their educational profile. Since studies in these domains are relatively costly and difficult, the growth in the number of students during the recent educational boom has been relatively moderate. Occupational paths are quite well defined, leading to occupations such as medical doctors, engineers, scientific researchers or school teachers. For most of these professions, there is excess demand in the labour market, leaving the supply to mainly drive the market wages and employment. On the other hand, graduates of Social Sciences and Business face more of a demand-driven labour market where it is not that easy to find a high quality job matching graduates aspirations. One key reason for the alleged over-supply of graduates is the relatively low costs of studies in these domains. As a result, in recent years most countries have experienced a massive growth of students here. In many countries, this has been related to the development of the private sector in higher education. In the presence of such a great increase of supply it is more market demand that drives their wages and employment opportunities. Occupational paths for most graduates within this domain are however very broadly defined, which in the case of a demand-driven market might be an advantage as it allows graduates to search for jobs in a much larger scope and allows them to be more flexible in choosing their future professions. In the case of some study programmes, this might be an obstacle when the costs of acquiring new skills and adapting to labour demand are high. The Education domain seems to be similar to Social Sciences and Business in terms of the cost of education and study requirements. On the other hand, the Education domain shows some similarity to the Analytical domains with their very narrowly defined professional career paths. The transition to the labour market is very specific because in most countries the profession of school teacher is a regulated occupation and labour market demand for teachers largely comes from the public sector. The three clusters differ in terms of wage distribution. For the Analytical domains, wages are generally higher and less dispersed than in Social Science and Business. In the field of Education wages have both the lowest mean and standard deviation. Differences in wage distribution might be related to the ownership structure of employment. Education domain graduates mainly find employment in the public sector (73.4% in the REFLEX/HEGESCO sample for DEHEMS countries). The remaining domains have much lower shares of public sector employment (Analytical domains 33.2%, Social Sciences and Business 27.4%). Differences between the clusters are also found with respect to the international mobility of students and graduates. Generally, Education domain students are the least mobile. The remaining domains are characterised by a considerably higher incidence of international mobility, with pre-graduate mobility 85

87 Determinants of graduates labour market success across domains: a comparative analysis dominating in Social Science and Business studies and post-graduate mobility being typical of Analytical domains. The characteristics of the clusters of study domains (both for educational process and labour market features) are presented in Table 4.6. The three types of study domains also clearly vary in terms of the factors determining labour market success. In the domains of Engineering, Medicine and Science, the greatest impact on factors of professional success comes from personal traits and the environment and the surroundings in which respondents work. Generally speaking, education-related factors (study programme, teaching modes etc.) are less important. In the domain of Social Science and Business, the most relevant appear to be factors related to the education process, particularly those factors which allowed the respondents to stand out in a competitive labour market such as, for example, a diploma from a well-respected institution or possessing other certified skills or practical experience. Finally, in the Education field the influence of study process characteristics, personal attitude or international mobility were found to be insignificant for labour market success. This can be directly related to the fact that state regulations regarding the teacher profession create formal requirements as an employment entry condition. Meanwhile, their current work characteristics and teaching and learning modes have proven to be more important, as these are the factors in which graduates might potentially be more differentiated. Table 4.6: Characteristics of study domain clusters Cluster number Analytical domains Education process characteristics Educational studies Social science and business Number of students in recent years Stable Increase Massive increase Cost of education High Low Low Vocationally oriented programme Medium High Medium Occupational career path Partly defined Narrowly defined Broadly defined Share of active teaching modes High Low Medium Share of part-time studies Low Medium High Entry study requirements High Low Low Programme requirements High Low Medium Prestige of the programme Medium Low High International mobility High Low High Degree of feminisation Low High Medium Employment characteristics Dominating ownership sector Private Public Private Competitiveness of market environment High Low High Need for analytical skills High Low Medium Wage level High Low High Wage dispersion Medium Low High Type of labour market Supply driven Demand driven Demand driven Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. 86

88 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project The undertaken study of the labour market success determinants in the cross-domain perspective allows for preliminary conclusions concerning potential actions to be taken in order to improve employability of European graduates. Complementing this analysis with qualitative data based on the interviews with HE stakeholders will validate the conclusions and will significantly strengthen potential recommendations. It is particularly important during the period of implementation of National Framework ofqualifications which is supposed to improve flexibility of European graduates and make them better prepared for entering labour market. 87

89 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates 5 REVIEW OF PROFESSIONAL DOMAINS AND ANALYSIS OF PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS OF THE GRADUATES Paul Demeter, Angelo Paletta, Daniele Vidoni, Wolfgang Mayrhofer, Katharina Chudzikowski, Genc Alimehmeti 5.1 BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS Introduction The Business and Economics programme, according to assumptions made within the DEHEMS project, includes a wide range of topics as well as many higher education programmes administered by universities and other institutions throughout the DEHEMS participant countries. The professional domain itself is very differentiated and, in addition to the core knowledge on business and economics, it requires knowledge of specific business sectors or management duties. Graduates within the field of study may be employed within a wide range of positions, from education to chartered accountants or auditors, to any managerial position within a public or private organisation. Students who have successfully completed the higher education programme are trained to begin different career paths, making it is easy for them to enter the labour market as well as to move into other positions within the same or a different sector. Indeed, as will be explained later, although the business and economics field within the DEHEMS countries covers a wide variety of programmes, duration and contents, there is evidence that graduates have the mentioned work opportunities. The Bologna Process, strongly promoting the renewal of higher education, has triggered an on-going and substantial process to make HEIs more attentive attitude to labour market needs and their evolution. 30 General statements and statistics in this section refer to the domain of Business and Economics in DEHEMS countries if not stated otherwise. In some cases, comparisons will be related to other domains, other countries, totals, or averages but this will be mentioned explicitly. The professional domain "Business and Economics" was defined by the project team as ISCED 314 and 34 (on ISCED level 5). In the DEHEMS countries, this generally covers the following areas of study: business administration; economics; studies related to business administration in a specific field such as tourism, education or sports; studies related to a specific aspect of business administration such as management, law, marketing, finance, IT, The last section of the chapter Business and Economics (4.1.6) is based on interviews carried out as part of the DEHEMS project in the six DEHEMS countries. Despite context differences, the interviews followed a common outline in order to standardise the outcome. 30 Despite all the commonalities, it is interesting to note that in Germany, Italy and Austria future teachers of business and economics are also educated in this domain unlike in the education domain whereas in other countries similar programmes like Business and Economics Education are not listed in this domain. 88

90 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Statistical description of graduates The socio-biographical background includes a number of issues that define the social profile of graduates in the domain: the social condition with particular reference to graduates who feel they have a good social status, the educational level of their parents, graduates who live alone or with their parents, graduates who have children to care of during their studies; the social commitment of graduates with particular regard to graduates who believe they have an opportunity to do something useful for society and to be able to balance their work commitments with family commitments, through to graduates who have a position in student organisations and/or volunteer during university studies, an important indicator of active citizenship; the importance of social networks (friends, relatives, colleagues, former teacher etc..), as a determinant of job opportunities. The business and economic domain statistics are not very different from those characterising the DEHEMS countries in general. The following paragraphs provide some basic information about the number of students and graduates as well as the main characteristics of students with particular regard to the attraction of students on an international basis and PhD students Number of students and graduates While it makes little sense to compare absolute numbers across countries, it is interesting to find that the trends are also quite different within the same countries. Many of them report an upward tendency in student numbers enrolled in the business and economics study field. Turkey is found at the top with an increase of more than 30 % from 2005 to 2008, whereas the growth rates in other countries are more moderate, usually in single digits. The only exception is Poland with a slight decrease of 0.5 per cent. This decline may be weak but it should not be ignored as 2008 was the third consecutive year with decreasing student numbers. Table 5.1: Numbers of students and graduates in the domain of Business and Economics in DEHEMS countries 31 Number of Students as % of Number of Graduates as % Population 32 students inhabitants graduates of inhabitants Slovenia Germany Italy Turkey Poland Austria Source: Own calculation. In general, Business and Economics is a popular domain to study. This is supported by the number of students in the domain relative to the total number of students per country, e.g. 30.6% in Poland, 15.6% in Austria. 31 The numbers assembled here come from different countries and different statistical sources. Thus, they refer to different groups and are only comparable only a limited extent if at all. 32 The purpose of this is to enable a very rough comparison, as a first suggestion population data were obtained from Wikipedia only (Wikipedia (2010). "Population by country." Retrieved 04 Nov 2010, from 89

91 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates When looking at the OECD figures on business and administration graduates in the DEHEMS countries (see Table 5.2), we can note that in Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Turkey those numbers are ascending through the years ( ). The highest growth can be noted in Turkey where from 13,000 graduates in 2005 it rose to 66,000 in If we look at the shares of business and administration graduates compared to the total number of all graduates, we can see constant growth in Austria, Slovenia and Turkey. The lowest share is noted in Italy (around 12%) and the highest in Poland with around 27%. Table 5.2: Number of graduates of the business and economics field Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey % of tertiary graduates Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey Source: Own elaboration based on OECD (2011) Students by gender The distribution in the Business and Economics domain in the six DEHEMS countries can be considered relatively equivalent. Table 5.3 shows that in this domain women account for 41% of students in Germany, close to 50% in Italy and Austria, and almost 60% in Poland. It is interesting to note that in all countries where data are reported, the female share is higher among graduates than among students. This difference may be moderate with 1.5 percentage points in Austria, or considerable with 8 percentage points in Poland, but it clearly shows that male students drop out of higher education more often than females. 90

92 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project International students Comparing the extent of internationalisation in HEI proves to be a difficult task. First, the analysed countries recognise different meanings of the term foreign student : The most common reference is citizenship, whereas Germany refers to the place where the school leaving certificate is issued. In addition, students with a migration background 33 may or may not be included in this group. Finally, among these foreign students there will be exchange students who are only temporarily studying at the host institution, with others studying permanently in the respective country. As 5.3 shows, the reported numbers again vary substantially across the countries. While the share of foreign students is a mere 1% in Poland, it varies from 3.9% in Italy, 12% in Germany to a comparatively high 20% in Austria. Table 5.3: Number of students and graduates, shares of female and foreign students in the Business and Economics domain in DEHEMS countries 34 Number of students Female (%) Foreign students (%) Number of graduates Slovenia Germany Italy < Turkey Poland Austria ~ Source: Own calculation PhD students It is interesting to note that although, in this domain, Poland has almost four times as many students and almost seven times as many graduates as Turkey, both report a similar number of PhD students. While in Turkey a PhD is not highly valued in the labour market, no such information is available for Poland Family Background Parents education The HEGESCO results reveal significant differences between the partner countries with an accent on the differences in almost all profiles of social background. With particular regard to the family background of graduates, the three figures below present the shares of students who say that their father, mother or partner have a tertiary education degree. 33 This term would need to be defined separately. 34 The numbers assembled here come from different countries and different statistical sources. Thus, they refer to different groups and are only comparable to a limited extent if at all. 91

93 IT TR AT PT FI SI CZ NL PL NO HU DE LT FR BE EE TOTAL Percent of answers PT IT FI SI AT PL TR CZ HU LT NL NO FR BE EE DE TOTAL Percent of answers Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Figure 5.1: Shares of graduates whose father s highest education is ISCED 5+6 (tertiary education) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. The countries generally show that the shares for DEHEMS countries are below the average for Europe with Italy, Slovenia, Austria and Poland being characterised by increasing values. Only Germany is placed above the European average. These results are substantially confirmed when taking into consideration the education of the mother (Fig. 2), while the percentage grows significantly in all countries when considering the university education of their partner (Fig. 3). Figure 5.2: Shares of graduates whose mother s highest education is ISCED 5+6 (tertiary education) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. It is interesting to note the position of Italy which lies significantly below the average of the European countries participating in the survey. This situation is explained by the historical under-participation of the Italian population in higher education Children 92

94 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project From the HEGESCO database we can obtain information on the social profile of university students from the point of view of their living conditions during studies. In particular, two questions help shed light on this aspect: students who live alone (including single parents) and those who have children to take care of Mobility The mobility of university students can be analysed from different points of view, but it is certainly central to their ability to have work experience during their studies. Figure 5.4 shows the percentage share of graduates who had spent a period of study abroad during higher education: 93

95 CZ IT SI HU EE AT LT PL DE PT FI FR TR NO BE NL TOTAL Percent of answers TR SI PT LT EE CZ HU IT PL NO FI BE NL DE AT FR TOTAL Percent of answers Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Figure 5.3: Shares of graduates who spent time abroad during higher education to study Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. As part of the DEHEMS countries, Austria and Germany are characterised by a high number of graduates while. On the contrary, Turkey and Slovenia are countries where graduates acquire less experience of studying abroad. Italy and Poland take intermediate positions, but they are still below the average of the HEGESCO countries. The HEGESCO questionnaire makes it possible to analyse the work experience of graduates during their studies. No less interesting are the differences among the countries of the DEHEMS project on social mobility, analysed here in the sense of social activism and active citizenship (Fig. 5.4): Figure 5.4: Shares of graduates who held a position in a student or other voluntary organisation during their time in higher education Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. On average, 21.7% of the graduates took part in student organisations or participated in the activities of voluntary organisations. Among the DEHEMS countries, only Turkey and Germany are above the aver- 94

96 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project age, while graduates of Poland, Austria, Slovenia and Italy appear to mainly have a lower propensity to engage in social activism Study provisions and conditions In all the DEHEMS countries a few common features of higher education in Business and Economics can be established. However, there is a common transitional path driven by the Bologna Process which has changed, sometimes radically, the study provisions and conditions. The old curricula are still maintained for a small number of students who have not yet finished their studies, multiplying the number of programmes offered by HEIs. Still, in many other respects there are substantial differences. The following section provides an overview of the most striking common and individual features Higher education institutions The types and numbers of HEIs and the numbers of subjects they provide vary widely across countries. Table 5.4 shows that with 7 HEIs Slovenia has the smallest number of institutions in this domain while Germany s 260 is the highest. Similarly, Germany also reports the highest number of programmes on offer. Another interesting aspect is the relationship between the number of institutions and the number of administered study programmes. On average, each Turkish HEI offers exactly one curriculum, whereas the ratio is 1:10 in Italy and 1:17 in Austria. However, this overview does not provide information concerning the extent of differentiation between different study programmes or the extent of flexibility within a chosen curriculum. Table 5.4: Numbers of higher education institutions and studies offered in the Business and Economics domain in DEHEMS countries Number of Number Types of HEI programmes of HEIs Slovenia n.a. 7 higher professional schools and faculties at universities Germany mainly universities and universities of applied sciences Austria more than mainly public universities, private universities and universities of applied sciences Italy more than public and private universities Turkey public and private universities Poland n.a. 113 public and non-public: universities, technical universities, and different academies Source: Own elaboration The Bologna Process has affected the number of programmes shown above, although there may be differences regarding their effects. For example, in Italy the fragmentation of the study programmes is argued to have led to the high number of programmes, whereas in Austria the high numbers are due to the current transitional process during which both old and new curricula have to be administered still, after the transition has been excluded, some fragmentation could also be involved. 95

97 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates The differences displayed in 5.4 cannot simply be explained by country size as can be noticed in the example of Turkey a relatively large country which offers a relatively small number of studies at a relatively small number of universities. This needs further investigation General description and duration All countries offer undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programmes as stated in the Bologna Declaration. The three study cycles mostly last three, two and three years, with some notable exceptions: In Turkey, the first and third cycles have a duration of four years each, and in Germany some HEIs provide first-cycle programmes that last 3.5 years and second-cycle programmes that last 1.5 years. However, these numbers do not indicate whether there may be a difference between the minimum study duration and the students actual study duration. While in Turkey the duration of study may not be exceeded by more than 50% of the normal period, Austria does not specify a time limit for most programmes and students on average study considerably for longer than what is stated in the curricula. Moreover, despite the fact that the Bologna structure has been introduced in all countries, some of them e.g. Germany, Italy, Austria are going through a transitional process that has not been completed yet Number of more specialised study programmes vs. the freedom to choose one s own special interest within a single programme All countries provide students with the opportunity to focus on particular aspects of the field, like economics, econometrics, management, business, administration, human resources, finance, accounting, law etc. Similarly, education may be directed to specific industries/economic fields such as tourism, public services, small and medium enterprises, sports, banking, real estate etc. These functional or divisional specialisations may take the form of different curricula, like in Germany, Austria, Italy and Poland, or be offered as elective subjects within a programme such as in Turkey and Slovenia. These aspects can also be analysed on the basis of the HEGESCO data. As the table below shows, Austria and Germany are characterised by the broad focus of the study programme, while Turkey, Slovenia and Poland are well below the average: 96

98 HU PT SI FR UK TR CZ PL EE IT NL BE AT LT DE NO SP FI TOTAL Per cent of answers TR PT SI CZ PL FR IT LT HU SP DE NO FI EE UK AT NL BE TOTAL Per cent of answers Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Figure 5.5: Broad focus of the study programme, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question A5d (Hegesco), A6d (Reflex): To what extent did the programme have a broad focus? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent''. The following figure shows the results of the Hegesco project about freedom on the part of graduates regarding the composition of their study programme: Austria and especially Germany are the countries where such freedom is greater, while in Slovenia, Turkey and Poland the figures are below-average. Figure 5.6: Freedom in composing one s own study programme, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question A5c (Hegesco), A6c (Reflex): To what extent was there freedom in composing your own study programme? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent'' Teaching and learning modes Formal general curricula elements One aspect of particular interest when comparing the curricular structure of the courses from the graduates perspective is to what extent the course of study is demanding and what is appreciated in the marketplace. In fact, if the course is perceived as very demanding but employers are not familiar with it, the level of students frustration can be very high. 97

99 TR EE SI IT CZ PL UK PT HU FI LT FR SP AT DE NL BE NO TOTAL Per cent of answers EE PL NL CZ FI SI SP TR FR UK BE PT DE AT HU NO IT LT TOTAL Per cent of answers Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates The REFLEX/HEGESCO database provides a number of elements that represent a starting point for the DEHEMS project with regard to the curricular structure of the courses in the different partner countries. The two figures below show that in Italy the rating of a course of study is highly demanding, while employers have little familiarity with their curriculum. In Poland and Slovenia, compared to other countries, the course is perceived to be not very demanding, while employers have a high level of familiarity with it. Finally, in Austria and Germany the curriculum is considered to be highly demanding and employers are quite familiar with the course: Figure 5.7: Rating of how demanding the study programmes was, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question A5a (Hegesco), A6a (Reflex): To what extent was the programme generally regarded as demanding? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent''. Figure 5.8: Employers familiarity with the content of the study programme, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question A5b (Hegesco), A6b (Reflex): To what extent are employers familiar with the content of the study programme? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent''. The table below shows the average score of the assessment of the teaching and learning modes in the domain of business and economics. 98

100 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Table 5.5: Average score of assessments of teaching and learning modes in the business and economics domain (mean of possible answers ranged from 1 to 5- see REFLEX/HEGESCO questionnaire) Non-DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Total Extent to which the following characteristic was emphasised in the study programme: Multiple-choice exams Oral presentations Written assignments Problem-based learning Teacher as the main source of information Theories and paradigms Research project Group assignments Lectures Academically prestigious programme Employers familiar with the content of the programme To what extent has your study programme been a good basis for: Personal development Performing your current work tasks Starting work Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. There are very obvious differences among the countries in the domain of business and economics concerning the different modes of teaching and learning: - There is the highly above-average use of multiple-choice exams in Poland (3.91), while in Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Austria it is below-average. - In Austria (3.73), they use oral presentations much more often than in other countries. On the other side, in Turkey the use of oral presentations is below-average (2.42). There is a very similar situation with written assignments. - Problem-based learning is again most often used in Austria (3.15), while the average among the countries stands at This method is not so often used in Turkey (2.38) and Italy (2.42). - In Italy (3.77), the teacher is more frequently seen as the main source of information than in other countries, especially in Turkey and Slovenia which are below the countries average. - A research project as an assessment method on average very rarely used is across the countries, although the greatest use is noted in Turkey (2.24). - Group assignments are most often used in non-dehems countries and Austria (above the average) and less often in Turkey and Italy (below-average). - Lectures are still the most often (3.85) used method in this domain across all the DEHEMS countries, with the highest frequency being noted in Germany (4.23). - Employers are more often familiar with the content of the programme in Germany (3.15) and Austria (3.18) than in other countries, where the average is German and Austrian students see the programme as a good basis for personal development and for starting to work far more often than in other DEHEMS countries. 99

101 SP TR BE UK IT PT HU PL NO NL LT CZ EE SI DE FI FR AT TOT Per cent of answers Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Practical training period during studies Practical training periods are an indicator of the extent of a specific education s vocational orientation. In this respect, both the domain and the countries prove to be heterogeneous. In Germany and Austria, whether a programme includes work experience as a compulsory element depends on the type of HEI. In Slovenia all HEIs provide two different tracks, a more vocational and a more theoretical one. Finally, in Turkey practical training is not required in any curriculum, and in Poland it is mandatory in all first-cycle programmes. In Italy, short internships or work experiences are required, mainly between 3 and 6 months, to successful complete any programme. In general, practical training (= informal learning) will not be recognised as equivalent to course credits except if this training is a compulsory element of the curriculum or if there is an explicitly mentioned possibility like in Slovenia to substitute some courses with work experience. For example, in Austria practical training periods are a common part of curricula only at universities of applied sciences. On the other hand, at public universities students will in most cases not obtain credits for work experience as practical training usually lacks any formal examination and awarded grade. For different reasons, Turkey, Italy and Poland are characterised by a low percentage of graduates who have work experience related to their studies. While these countries are all below the average of Hegesco, Slovenia, Germany and especially in Austria (76%) reveal strikingly different patterns of behaviour whereby it is very popular for students to do work experience consistent with the studies undertaken (Figure 5.9): Figure 5.9: Study-related work experiences during study, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question B3 (Hegesco), B3 (Reflex): Did you acquire any study-related work experiences? ''Yes'' responses on a scale of answers ''yes'' and ''no''. On average, 63% of graduates said they had in the previous 12 months taken a training course in preparation for a job. Austria, Poland and Slovenia are those countries of the DEHEMS project with the highest shares of students, while Italy is characterised as the country where the smallest number of graduates who took a course of training for work. 100

102 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Foreign languages In many cases, knowledge of a foreign language is an important element of the curriculum. Sufficient knowledge of at least one foreign language is compulsory for first-cycle students in Italy, Poland, Austria, and for international business studies in Germany. In Austria, also most second-cycle programmes either explicitly include language courses or have English as a teaching language, whilst Austrian internationally-oriented courses usually require students to learn a second or third foreign language Thesis In all countries, students are required to write a bachelor, master or PhD thesis to successfully complete their respective studies. The only exception is Turkey where a thesis is a prerequisite to graduate from second- and third-cycle programmes, but first-cycle studies can be completed without one Transition to employment and first job Different countries show varying approaches to helping students with their first jobs. Generally, work placements are not compulsory in the curriculum. Therefore, it is up to the HEI to assure contacts and push students to acquire some work experience in exchange for ECTS credits. Most often the occupation of business and economics graduates is other professionals (44.5%). Especially high percentages of other professionals are seen in Austria (almost 80%) and Poland (57%), while in Slovenia, Turkey and Italy they are below-average, at around 35%. Another very common occupation in this field is other associate professional with 21%, except in Austria and Germany where the respective figure is below 10%. 101

103 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Table 5.6: Occupations of business and economics graduates (in percent) DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Other professionals Other associated professionals Corporate managers Office clerks Physical, mathematical and engineering science professionals Teaching professionals Managers of small enterprises Customer services clerks Physical and engineering science associate professionals Life science and health associate professionals Personal and protective services professionals Life science and health professionals Armed forces Legislators and senior officials Teaching associate professionals Extraction and building workers Other Total Source: Own calculations based on the REFLEX/HEGESCO data. In the field of business and economics there are quite notable differences among the countries with respect to graduates search duration for their current job. The average search duration among countries is 4.3 months which is not very different from the average search duration for all domains. However, inside the field of business and economics Austria and Germany are far below the average with a search duration of only 1.5 months, while graduates in Slovenia (5.8 months) and Turkey (8.3 months) are searching for a job for far longer. In these two countries, graduates of business and economics find it harder to become employed than in the other DEHEMS countries. Table 5.7: Search duration of graduates in the field of business and economics DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Mean (months) SD Science/All domains Mean (ratio) SD Source: Own calculations based on the HEGESCO and REFLEX data. Note: Search duration was calculated on the basis of the question How many months did you search before you obtained this employment (after graduation)? from REFLEX/HEGESCO questionnaire. Mean is an average of months, SD is standard deviation. 102

104 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project The ways business and economics graduates most often use to find employment are through family, friends or acquaintances; contacting employers on their own initiative; through an advertisement in a newspaper; and being approached by an employer. Through family, friends and acquaintances is used by the highest number of graduates and far more often in Turkey (almost twice the average of all countries) and far less often in Germany and Austria. A lot of students found a job by contacting an employer on their own initiative. This way is very often used in Italy and Poland (above the average) and not so often in Turkey (almost half of the average). Business and economic graduates also very frequently find a job through advertisements in newspapers. It is an especially popular method in Germany and Austria (highly above-average) and not so much in Italy (very below-average). Significant numbers of students were approached by employers and in that way obtained their current employment. This is the case for all DEHEMS countries, except Poland. In Slovenia and Poland, graduates far more often find employment through public employment agencies than in other countries. A similar case is Turkish and Polish students who are for more likely to find a job through the Internet than students in other countries. 103

105 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Table 5.8: Ways graduates in the field of business and economics find work DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Through advertisement in newspaper 16,3 25,6 24,4 9, ,6 12,4 16,9 16,7 Through public empl. ag. 4,1 1,1 1,8 1 7,5 8,4 1,8 4 4 Through private empl. ag. 1,9 2,4 2,3 3,7 0,9 1,2 1,5 8,3 6,1 Through the Internet 8,9 5,3 11,3 5,2 14,6 2,2 20,2 9,9 9,5 Contacted employer on own initiative 16,6 19,2 14,5 22,3 26,6 16,4 7, Approached by employer 10,3 13,3 9,5 12 5,3 11 8,4 9,4 9,7 Through work placement during higher education 5,1 5,1 11,3 4,1 4,9 6,5 1,7 9,2 7,7 Through family, friends or acquaintances 25 13,9 11,3 23,4 24,3 23,2 41,1 16,8 19,8 Through help of higher education institution 3,8 8,5 2,7 9,1 1,8 0,5 2,5 5 4,6 Set up my own business 2,5 3,2 1,4 3,3 1,8 2,5 2 1,7 2 Other 4,1 0,8 9,5 6 0,4 6,5 0,6 4,3 4,3 Through previous work 1,4 1, ,5 0,8 Total Business/All domains Through advertisement in newspaper 1,365 1,517 1,819 1,401 1,066 1,361 1,024 1,185 1,230 Through public empl. ag. 0,985 0,899 0,637 0,531 0,861 1,147 0,445 0,880 0,911 Through private empl. ag. 1,329 1,752 3,477 1,333 1,354 1,658 0,876 1,759 1,609 Through the Internet 1,258 1,031 1,459 1,175 1,342 1,340 1,194 1,234 1,233 Contacted employer on own initiative 0,745 0,746 0,630 1,095 0,725 0,678 0,626 0,692 0,717 Approached by employer 0,963 1,010 0,856 1,109 1,264 0,856 0,984 0,898 0,923 Through work placement during higher education 0,856 0,656 1,317 0,821 1,292 0,923 0,546 0,911 0,873 Through family, friends or acquaintances 1,254 1,023 1,216 1,003 1,255 1,373 1,234 1,086 1,174 Through help of higher education institution 0,752 1,380 0,749 1,038 0,714 0,178 0,529 0,916 0,858 Set up my own business 0,849 0,928 0,413 0,663 1,639 1,687 0,948 1,132 1,031 Other 0,570 0,213 0,577 0,593 0,512 0,828 0,629 0,897 0,767 Through previous work 1,044 0,899-0,000 0,000 0,915-1,098 1,143 Total 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 Source: Own calculations based on the HEGESCO and REFLEX data. Note: Each number in the top part of the table shows share of a given way of finding job in the population of graduates in employment they sum up to 100. In the bottom part is a ratio of a share for business to the general population showing specifics of channels of finding job for business domain graduates. If we compare the ways of finding employment in field of business and economics with other domains, we see that advertisements in newspapers, private employment agencies (except Turkey), the Internet and 104

106 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project family, friends and acquaintances are more frequently used in this field than across all domains. On the other side, graduates of business and economics less often find a job by setting up their own business (except in Poland and Slovenia where it is more often used); through the help of the HEI (except Austria and Italy); through a work placement during HE (except Germany and Poland); or by being contacted by an employer than graduates across all the domains Certification With the Bologna structure most countries have adopted the degree titles bachelor, master and PhD, but there is no clear preference for one of the branches of academia: arts or sciences. Graduates are awarded the degrees Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science (in Italy Laurea), Master of Arts, Master of Science (in Italy Laurea Magistrale) and Doctor of Philosophy. In Germany and Austria, we find Doktor, Doktorin (females) for completing first-, second-, or third-cycle studies, respectively. However, in some cases like Turkey there are other certifications for special cases as the short cycle degree of Bologna given to students who stop attending the undergraduate programme or are dismissed and receive an associate degree. Certain certificate programmes are arranged by professional associations. NGOs, university foundations, private training institutions within the framework of continuous education or lifelong learning. These certificate programmes differ in duration from 16 hours to 90 hours. In the DEHEMS countries, graduates in the domain of Business and Economics cannot generally rely on their higher education institutions to support them when entering the marketplace. However, in Slovenia offices supporting students and maintaining contact with the market can be found at the respective faculties. To a smaller extent this is also true for Austria where career centres exist at larger universities. In Germany and Austria graduates in Business Education can and must get in contact with the state which not only sets standards for the teacher profession but is also their most likely future employer. Altogether, graduates transition to their first employment is highly individualised and is largely left up to graduates themselves. There is only a small number of professions requiring additional training and/or examinations, like statutory auditors, certified accountants, investment advisors, stock brokers, or insurance brokers. Although these professions may be highly regulated in specific countries, they only represent a minority of graduates in this domain across all the DEHEMS countries Job Satisfaction The REFLEX/HEGESCO database provides empirical evidence on the degree of graduates satisfaction with the current job. In particular, Turkey and Italy are characterised by a low share of graduates who are satisfied, while Austria stands clearly above the average. 105

107 TR IT PT SP FR UK SI FI NL NO HU DE PL CZ EE LT BE AT TOTAL Per cent of answers Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Figure 5.10 : Satisfaction with current work, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question F13 (Hegesco), F13 (Reflex): How satisfied are you with your current work? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Very dissatisfied'' to 5 = ''Very satisfied''. A crucial aspect for promoting the employability of graduates is the responsiveness of the course, and then the knowledge and skills included in the curriculum with respect to the professional profiles required in the marketplace. As found in the data analysis in Turkey, Italy, Poland and Slovenia employers are familiar with the contents of the curriculum at only a very low level, while Austria and Germany are above the average. These figures are confirmed by the question "Study programme as a good basis for starting work": In Austria and Germany more than 70% of graduates responding affirmatively, while at the opposite extreme in Slovenia and Turkey only 26% and 34% of graduates responded that the curriculum was a good basis for starting work. Table 5.9: Study programme as a basis for starting work: business and economics vs. all domains DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Business (%) All (%) Business/All (ratio) Source: Own calculations based on the HEGESCO and REFLEX data. From the responses to the question To what extent has your study programme been a good basis for starting work? we can see that as across all domains there is a similar situation in the field of business and economics where more than 50% of students answered that their programme has been a good basis for starting work to a high or very high extent. We have an especially high percentage of such answers in Austria and Germany (above 70%) and a relatively low percentage in Turkey (34%) and Slovenia (26%), where graduates do not see their programme as being helpful in the process of starting work. However, these results are not field-specific because, compared to the average shares across all domains, we note that the results are pretty similar with the highest percentages in Austria, Germany and Poland and the lowest in Turkey and Slovenia. Most graduates (60%) in the field of business and economics were given a time-unlimited contract in their first job. In Austria and Germany, the shares are even above 78%, while in Italy and Poland we find the reverse situation with a share below 38%. Comparing the results with the average across all domains we 106

108 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project may conclude that in the business and economics field graduates more often sign an unlimited contract for their first job than in the other domains. Table 5.10: Type of contract in the first job: business and economics vs. all domains Business DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total (%) Unlimited Fixed-term Other Business/All (ratio) Unlimited Fixed-term Other Source: Own calculations based on the HEGESCO and REFLEX data. The average number of hours of work per week in the first job in the field of business and economics across the DEHEMS countries is This result was noted in all countries, except Turkey where we saw a slightly higher result, namely 43.4 hours of work per week. Comparing the results of the domain with all domains, we can see that distribution of hours is fairly similar in all countries across the domains, except in Germany where they work a little more in this field compared to the others. Table 5.11: Hours of work per week in the first job: business and economics DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Mean (hours) SD Business/All domains Mean (ratio) SD Source: Own calculations based on the HEGESCO and REFLEX data. If we consider how much graduates utilise the knowledge and skills they gained through the programme in their current work, we see that there is a slight difference between graduates of business and economics and other domains. Graduates of this field utilise their knowledge and skills almost 3% less than graduates across all the domains. However, the utilisation rate is still relatively high at 68%; the highest is in Austria (78%) and Germany (74%) and the lowest in Slovenia (64%). Table 5.12: Utilised knowledge and skills in current work: business and economics vs. all domains DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Business (%) All (%) Business/All (ratio) Source: Own calculations based on the HEGESCO and REFLEX data. 107

109 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Important stakeholders With the exception of Slovenia, the state is considered a very influential and usually the most important stakeholder in this domain. As a legislator, the state is responsible for the legal framework of HE. Institutional autonomy varies across the countries with HEIs in some countries, e.g. Austria, being more independent than in others, e.g. in Poland where the ministry sets minimum curriculum requirements, but at some point they all end up being subordinated to a national body to obtain accreditation and/or funds. Other relevant stakeholders are companies (Turkey, Austria, Italy), employers associations (Germany, Austria) or influential individuals (Turkey) establishing new HEIs, funding research projects or becoming decision-makers, quality assuring (Poland), or accrediting (Germany, Austria) bodies Lifelong learning As the importance of lifelong learning has gained in importance around the world due to technological developments, the educational sector is working intensively on this subject. Educational ministries and other actors such as Councils of Higher Education (e.g. Turkey) have generally developed and changed all the pre, primary, secondary school curricula in the direction of student-centred learning. The universities themselves also take the lifelong learning into consideration and try to review their curricula according to the related demands. However, none of the countries have a specific policy or regulation on the lifelong learning process in the field of Business and Economics. Table 5.13: Study programme as a good basis for further learning on the job: business and economics vs. all domains DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Business (%) All (%) Business/All (ratio) Source: Own calculations based on the HEGESCO and REFLEX data. Almost half (48%) of the interviewed business and economics graduates see the programme as a good basis for further learning on the job, which is comparable across the domains where the average stands at 50%. The highest share of business and economics graduates believing the programme is a good basis for further learning on the job is seen in Poland and Austria (above 57%). In Turkey (33%) graduates do not believe as much that their programme prepared them well for further learning on the job. Table 5.14: Work-related training/course in the past 12 months in the first job: business and economics vs. all domains DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Business (%) All (%) Business/All (ratio) Source: Own calculations based on the HEGESCO and REFLEX data. 60% of graduates of business and economics had work-related training in the past 12 months in their first job. The highest result is found for Austria with 71% and the lowest for Italy and Turkey with only around 48% of graduates having had work-related training in the past 12 months. When we compare the results of this field with the results across all the domains, we see that there are no bigger differences. 108

110 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Higher Education Management Perspectives on Graduates Professional Careers Synthesis of the DEHEMS Interviews Understanding of career success The understanding of career success is the first step in determining the interviewees knowledge of the main topic of the interview. The countries involved are Germany, Slovenia and Turkey. Due to their specific and different contexts, the understanding of this issue has more correlation within the same country, but they show a similar understanding even among the different countries. Nevertheless, there are different perspectives on the definition of career success. Generally, the interviewees refer to job satisfaction as career success. Yet such satisfaction can be related to different factors: salary; finding a job in a short time after graduating; happiness at work; doing something that really matters; coping work with personal needs etc. Nevertheless, as one German interviewee pointed out, there is no single criterion to define professional success. One has to differentiate. There are people who wish to be employed in a field where they have the feeling of being needed. Other people would say that salary is decisive. Despite the various definitions, there is an underlying thread concerning some key dimensions, as elaborated below: Short- versus long-term success An important distinction when defining career success relates to the time period concerned. Most interviewees referred to the short time period as the timeline of interest when determining the success of students transition to the market. Nevertheless, it is not only short-term success that is important (i.e. how quickly graduates find their first job; the importance of the first position), but so too is the long-term development of their careers. Research on higher education institutions and their ability to determine their graduates success, considers a five-year period after the first occupation as the longest period where HEIs can be a determining factor of graduates occupations. There was no clear indication by the interviewees if they have the same short and long ranges, although there were some cases where the distinction between the short and long run was apparently clear enough. For instance, a professor from Turkey clarified that short-term career success is the possession of competencies that enable graduates to get employed and that the time of school-to-work transition is as short as possible. This also has an influence on other factors, such as having families, housing etc. The long-term understanding of career success also consists of progression in one s job position, salaries etc.. Long-term success can create benefits not only for the graduate but for the whole of society. An executive director of MBA-granting institution from Slovenia thinks that successful graduates do something good for society, for the company, for their family and for themselves. Employment in itself is not a success. Adequate employment of professional skills Business and economics comprehend a wide range of fields and, consequently, a wide range of career opportunities. Nevertheless, not all graduates find a job that matches their course of study. Sometimes, they work in positions that generally require different knowledge than business and economics. Thus, finding a job that sufficiently matches one s university studies is an important feature that determines suc- 109

111 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates cess in a graduate s career. As pointed out by an interviewee in Germany, one criterion to indicate this is the level of salary. Yet, others think that salary itself is not enough to determine true success; another dimension of professional success is a kind of satisfaction with the employment situation: job satisfaction would lead to success in the long run. Being able to find a job in the same field of one s studies is even more difficult in some areas that are dominated by the family-business type of organisations. A professor from Turkey recognised this diversity compared to others in the region: 80% of our graduates are employed by their family companies. And about 90% of our students are employed after graduation. Generic skills are very important in my view of career success. If they can be promoted and are working in the field they have got an education in, then for me they are successful in their career path. The above dimensions show there are dissimilarities in defining the concept of career success. Some focus on personal satisfaction, while others on a wider outcome beyond that just for the graduate, but for society as a whole. Some interviewees define success as short-term goal achievement (i.e. the time needed to find a job; the level of salary; the importance of the first position), while others look at the long-term dimension as a more realistic sense of career success (i.e. getting promotions). Most of the interviewees perceive it as important to place graduates in positions that cope with their studies, while some value generic skills due to their specific job market context. Knowledge of the professional orientation of the graduates The second background question to what extent are you in touch with former graduates and do you know what they are doing aims to check whether the interviewees are in touch or informed about the professional positions their graduates hold in business and economics. It can be noted that the main sources of information for the interviews are information systems on graduates (i.e. alumni networks; reports from research centres on employability; associations networks) and personal networks (following PhD/Master theses; social media). The use of these information channels varies in relation to the country and position of the interviewees. Again the interviewees share good knowledge of the occupational situation of the graduates, but their channels of information differ somewhat. In Germany, the interviewees in the role of professor mainly stay in touch with their Master/PhD students that they supervised. Non-academic professionals mainly use alumni networks; reports from higher education research centres on students employability and other institutionalised contacts (i.e. associations such as in the domain of business and law). This point is important as it shows that the non-academic professional interviewees (such as in Germany where the interviewees are employed as a consultant to the Dean s office) have broader information on the employment status of their graduates, rather than the personal networks the professors use. The interviews in Slovenia show that graduate information systems are not very functional at the moment, but they are working on improving this. One interviewee from a business faculty noted that: recently the faculty implemented a survey among former graduates on their careers and job positions. This information is also used for designing new study programmes. This survey will be conducted systematically in the next years. The Turkish interviewees noted that their information channels are mainly based on personal networks since information systems have still to become functional. A representative of a Polish faculty of economics recognised the extreme importance to observe how graduates proceed in the labour market, but un- 110

112 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project fortunately up until now there have been no regular activities in terms of following graduates career paths, neither at the level of the faculty nor the university. Despite the biases produced by using only personal information on graduates occupations, wider information systems such as alumni networks might also involve a certain risk of not giving the right information. As noted by an assistant professor at one Slovenian university: the problem is that the alumni club usually includes graduates who are more successful in their careers. However, other contacts with former graduates are based only on the individual level (for example, through mentorship of a thesis). In conclusion, it can be noted that the interviewees mainly base their observations on personal knowledge on the graduates occupations, therefore running the risk of inductive reasoning when generalising conclusions about the factors that influence career success How should HE management take the future professional activities of graduates into account? The relevance of graduates future activities for curricula design and Bachelor and Master curriculums relationship to market needs Graduates from the domain of business and economics have career opportunities in the private and public sector. The interviewees do not make a clear distinction between the public and private markets and mainly refer to the private one when making assumptions. One of the goals of the Bologna Process was to standardise and simplify degree cycles in the European Higher Education Area. The two-cycle model has profoundly changed the curricula of many universities in different countries (i.e. Italy and Austria which shifted from a four-year cycle to three (bachelor) + two (master) cycles). The first cycle (bachelor) includes background and theoretical programmes that give students the initial foundations in business and economics. The second cycle (master) is intended to be more focused on specific needs of the industry and therefore involves curricula designed to be related to industry requirements. Nevertheless, another aim of the Bologna Process was to help the market transition of students who do not need much specialisation and are to work in more general positions. This would decrease the age and raise the number of graduates ready to get a job. Despite the intention to enhance the graduates transition to the world of work, the Bologna Process has not had the desired outcome. As one Austrian interviewee stated, in general the perception is that Bachelor graduates will need training on the job: Bachelors are unfinished material ). As long as the specialisations exist in the Bachelor, there will be an orientation towards the professional field. Otherwise, we would have a kind of basic programme without any idea of what will happen [to the graduates] after that. The bachelor degree seems to be insufficient. The Head of a Career Centre at a university in Austria noted that: this idea of a student completing a bachelor programme, then working for approximately 2 years and then returning to university to study full time in a Master programme does not please employers. First of all, companies are not interested in bachelor graduates without practical experience, secondly they fear that bachelors will enter the company and as soon as they are knowledgeable employees they will already leave e.g. to do a Master study [supposedly also a reason to refuse to accept bachelor graduates]. Part-time master studies are not offered. 111

113 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Issues in tailoring curricula to market needs There is a certain difficulty in tailoring curricula to what the market needs. A reasonable factor might be the missing link between HEIs and businesses, which do not always get in contact to initiate constructive debates on how to shape universities curricula. Sometimes universities act as closed systems isolated from business needs. As a professor from Austrian university comments, the bigger an HEI is, the more difficult it is to smoothly change; employers have to accept what we produce. Despite this perspective, the Head of Quality Management Austrian university, states that, to some extent, there are initiatives that aim to close the gap between the university and the marketplace (i.e. inviting guest speakers). Yet, confirming the first perspective, he continued: even though the development of a curriculum should not only be driven by employability, it should at least be linked to the perceptions of the economy or society. Another issue is due to the fact that universities goal is to provide usable knowledge, not specific training. As a representative of a university of applied sciences, a clearly practice-oriented higher education institution, noted, the aim is to provide them (students) with a set of skills like: experience in problem solving; analysing a problem, knowing where to start and how to go on from there; the ability to work on projects with complete strangers to solve a particular problem within a tight schedule; understanding of the area they work in but with specific training to do a specific job that will be done on the job. [ ] We cannot always train our students for a specific job in the job market because we can never predict which job they are going to get after they leave university. Thus, the feeling of not having practical training at universities is justified by the fact that universities should develop skills and not impart practical information. In the new information age, the role of HEIs is to enable students to successfully find and use information and not just have it already. Thereby, problem-solving skills, team working ability and other skills would equip graduates with the right tools to face modern businesses challenges. Not all interviewees make the same distinction about the relationship that Bachelor and Master curricula should have with the professional requirements of the market. While interviewees from Germany, Austria and Slovenia showed they are aware of such differences, interviewees from Poland, Italy and Turkey did not comment specifically on this issue, but mainly offered general ideas on the importance of curricula being aligned with market needs. The Polish interviewees show a high level of awareness of the fact that faculties curricula should respond to market needs. The HEI curriculum is strongly theoretical at the moment. The most important thing the studies impart is the skill of learning. Curricula should be evaluated as to whether they fulfil market demands. Due to the lack of monitoring of the marketplace, the programmes must be changed through subjective judgments without supportive professional research. The head of the First and Second Cycle Programme in Business and Economics at the Polish university thinks that the HEI plays a major role in shaping the chances of a successful future professional career for the graduates. That is why market requirements and expectations are regarded by her as a key factor influencing curriculum and teaching modes at the study programme she supervises: We need to keep an eye out for industry developments and trends to see if we re going to successfully prepare students for the market. Another factor that raises awareness of the link needed with the marketplace is the necessity to attract more and more students to HEIs. Again, a former Dean of Polish university pointed out that the dramatic fall of number of secondary school graduates in the coming years, formulating study programme attractive from the employability perspective is going to be a major challenge for HEIs, particularly in the private sector. 112

114 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Yet there is an interesting point of view from a Polish interviewee who said that there is a relevant number of students that do not need specific teaching programmes in line with the market: We have two typical groups of students: family business (50%) and eagles (50%). The first group does not have to care about labour market success. They are successors to the family business. They need studies simply to learn how to improve their parents enterprise. They need freedom in choosing subjects rather than a good theoretical background. They also rarely stay in touch with the HEI. The second group needs a more general programme that suits market demands. Due to this division and the core curricula enforced by the ministry it is hard to construct a single curriculum that is appropriate for both groups. He concludes that none of the Polish universities have understood the idea of Bologna s demands. They just cut the curriculum after three years. So did we. Now it is time to improve this. Slovenian, Turkish and Italian interviewees made no specific comments about this issue. They agreed about the importance of a link between HEIs and the marketplace when designing the curricula, but the actions they personally mentioned are at the personal network level. In conclusion, one can note that all the interviewees agreed about the importance of the market in designing curricula. Nevertheless, as an Austrian former Rector of the university pointed out that curricula design is a complex process and depends on legislation (the main trigger for changes), the university s general strategy and, implicitly, historically evolved ideas of the professors and heads of departments concerning what is important content to teach. Accordingly, the market is a new feature to consider in the variety of factors that determine faculty curricula. Not all countries show a consonant level of the assimilation of market needs in the curricula design process. Germany and Austria are far ahead in the implementation of such links between HEIs and markets than other countries yet even though they are acquainted with the importance of such links, they still need the proper strategy and infrastructure to make it happen HEI actions to support graduates transition to the market and their professional career After discussing the definition of the short- and long-term career success of graduates with the interviewees, this part of the interview moved to the core of the analysis by pragmatically asking about any activities each interviewee s HEI has taken to support their graduates transition to the market and to increase the probability of their long-term success. As noted in the Introduction, not all the interviewees have a clear definition of their graduates career success. There is even more confusion when it comes to the short- and long-term reference to the career success. Thus, there is some degree of heterogeneity in the responses to this section. The first classification that can be noted is the specific vs. general response of the interviewees on each issue. While the Austrian, German and Slovenian interviewees made specific remarks about particular issues, the Polish, Italian and Turkish interviewees offered more general and theoretical observations on the HEI s role in supporting the short- and long-term success of its graduates. The interview focuses on four issues: teaching/curriculum development; research; relationships between HEI and other groups; and other services. All of these topics have the same perspective: how do they influence graduates success. Most of the discussions are focused on the first topic of teaching/curriculum development, while the other perspectives were not the main focus of the interviewees. 113

115 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Making curricula more flexible: Rigid and flexible systems As noted before, the flexibility of curricula is an important factor of the Bologna Process in meeting new market requirements. Not all countries have implemented a flexible system that interacts smoothly with outside factors. An important factor to be considered in this analysis is the autonomy of each countries higher education system and the autonomy of each HEI (private or public). The interview does not consider and assess the autonomy of the HEIs so it is difficult to understand if the rigid or flexible systems outlined in the interviews are due to HEI autonomy in each country, or an internal problem of the HEI itself. Despite this missing link, some interviewees did reveal some information about their institutional autonomy. Based on such information, one can say that there are HEIs with greater autonomy (Germany, Austria) and with less autonomy (Slovenia, Italy, Poland, Turkey). i) Rigid systems In some cases, even though there are internal and external forces which determine the development of teaching/curricula, they are not linked to the market. For example, the Vice-Dean for Students Affairs at the Polish university noted that: changes in curricula are triggered by two major forces: external and internal. As for the external ones, these are changes in the core curriculum determined by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. They can hardly be said to be market-driven, but reflect rather the lobbying forces in central bodies responsible for curricula development. The other trigger for curriculum change lies inside the Faculty. It is in the shape of a Didactic Commission that gathers ten heads of all degree programmes taught at the Faculty and two representatives of students. The Commission formulates a comprehensive concept of learning objectives for each programme of study and specialisation and presents it to the Faculty s Council. The Didactic Commission supervises the implementation of the objectives of teaching and deals with the teaching quality management system. Again in Poland, external certification is an important driver of changing curricula. The Vice-Rector of the Polish university noted that: Applying for external certification gives the opportunity and incentives for self-improvement and development. The accreditation process is extremely demanding but it is worth it. Accreditation is a challenge for the whole institution but it is a perfect opportunity to make structural changes and improvements. This could be the key to growth of the diploma brand (this helps in finding a job) and the quality of courses. Yet, contrary to what she first stated, she added: Our current curriculum leaves much to be desired. We need to adapt and take on a more modern outlook. External certification gives goals and highlights strategy paths that singularly aim to produce benefits for the HEI. Nevertheless, if strategy considers the external drivers alone, one can lose focus on the mission that the HEI must pursue: creating value for the students and society. As the Vice-Rector noted when asked about the level of the curricula, despite the efforts to comply with external-certification benefits, the quality of the curricula is poor and thus one can conclude that there is not enough attention to the internal resources which can drive real change. Turkey s curricula flexibility shows the same features as in Poland. A lecturer at the university in Turkey noted that the changes mainly come from two different factors: 1) internal factors; such the information about the success of graduates in job applications and job exams as well as the demand from lecturers to have a competitive curriculum both domestically and internationally. 2) External factors; the Bologna project and collaborations with other universities at departmental or faculty level. However, another lecturer from Turkish university noted a more flexible reality: every 2-3 years we change our curriculum. We have feedback questionnaires from students. We meet with representatives from the Chamber of Indus- 114

116 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project try and Commerce, the Chamber of Maritime Commerce and the Mersin Businessmen s Association. We ask them their opinion about the graduates. This is important feedback. Besides our academics follow new trends in the world and other prestigious universities curriculums. Also we invite our former graduates to those meetings. Then we combine all that feedback to develop and reshape our courses and course contents. Yet, confirming the rigidity of Turkey s HEIs, a professor from Turkish university noted that: We are not taking into account the demands of employer when we are changing programmes. Italy also reveals a rigid system. The Head of a Department of Management at Italian business faculty noted that programmes have minor flexibility and credit shall be gained for abroad experiences upon agreement with the professors involved. An important constraint on changing and adapting programmes rapidly is the strict legal requirements on HEI curricula. According to a professor from Italian university the inflexibility is due to strict requirements and constraints from the Ministry of Education and the legal framework. Despite these limits, companies are invited to participate in curricula design each year and there is a wide offer of internships. The Slovenian scenario does not vary much. The HEIs in Slovenia also shows a lack of autonomy, which in return constrains HEIs liberty to quickly adapt their curricula. The problems encountered have similar features to the above cases since they have the same roots in the rigidity of regulation. One interviewee from a Slovenian business faculty noted changes in curricula are triggered by development and changes in the profession itself, the situation in the labour market, trends in the development of the higher education system and new generations of students. The legislation is inflexible in implementing new changes and employers needs into the study programmes. However, employers expect that the faculty will produce graduates with full knowledge ready for the beginning of work but the role of the faculty is to provide graduates with broad knowledge, which can be used in practice. The faculty is not a factory; therefore, the expectations of employers are often unrealistic. Despite the external constraints, there is some sort of submission to the fast changing environmental needs and the ability to react in time. As a representative of the same university noted: study programmes can t be too responsive to employers needs because what they need today you cannot offer this the next day as the study programmes cannot change so fast. And the knowledge the employers want today might be useless tomorrow. Therefore, it is also important to follow global trends and to see what will be important in the next years. Also systematically they are very limited about how to be responsive to employers needs. The faculty has to produce graduates who will be employed in the long term. The two interviewees above hold important decision-making positions so these thoughts contain a shared important message not only about the lack of proactiveness but the ability to react as well. Yet, these observations cannot be generalised to all Slovenian HEIs. One of the Slovenian universities to some extent shows a more flexible organisational environment where changes in curricula are triggered by assessments made once per year together with pedagogic staff, students and employers. A professor from the same university thinks that it is right that study programmes are flexible and responsive to the needs of employers to some extent but, on the other side, some fundamental knowledge is also needed. This shows a more reactive attitude to change, affirming the idea of traditional curricula during bachelor studies and more flexible and customised curricula at the master level. ii) More Flexible Systems 115

117 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates On the other hand, the Austrian and German interviewees do not consider external limits (law; external certification institutes) that might limit their ability to efficiently change the curricula. They see a more favourable context where curricula are more adaptable to specific needs. The Austrian curricula are broader at the Bachelor level and offer a greater focus on business needs at the Master level. Further, they focus more on the methodological formation of the students. A Professor of Finance at the Austrian university believes that the strength of their good curricula is because they convey not only theory and facts but also methods. Our graduates have high methodological competence, this may not be the case in some other programmes at this HEI. Despite these general observations, the Head of Business Studies (a bachelor programme) at the same university added that their curricula are constantly and frequently reviewed by different bodies: internal and external. Nevertheless, constant and frequent changes of curricula bring the potential risks not offering stability and sometimes following new approaches which might fail. She added here that they are very careful not to be taken in by some 'fashion trend' so that we not waggle back and forth in the curriculum but have some stability. So to say, ok, these are basic requirements associated with a business degree. Germany presents more evidence of attention to market demands when designing curricula. The greater autonomy of the German HEIs gives them more room for manoeuvre to quickly adapt their curricula. Contrary to Italy, Turkey and Poland where HEIs are constrained by external regulation, German HEIs show more governance autonomy, and can hence use different mechanisms to respond to the market. An expert and consultant at one of German universities noted that they have an advisory board with representatives of the economy. One task of this advisory board is of course to deepen the link between the economy and the faculty of business and economics with the goal to support graduates in their transition to work. This is a common feature noted by other interviewees in other countries (e.g. Turkey), but the interviewees in Germany are the only ones to mention this governance body that acts as a link between faculties and business. There is a shared perspective of the German interviewees on the strong regional background of their universities. An important factor seems to be the role of external stakeholders (e.g. the Chamber of Commerce and Industry). A Professor from another German university noted that the region has a particular interest in the graduates of business and economics: the same is true for those with an eye for the regional market. The stress on international orientation varies from country to country International orientation is an important factor not just in developing students curricula, but also in improving other student skills as team-working, socialising etc. The first aim of the Erasmus Mundus programme is to enhance the quality of higher education and to promote dialogue and understanding between people and cultures. Surely nowadays, firms highly value students with international experience in their studies, and most of the interviewees are aware of that. Nevertheless, there are some significant results from the analysis of the interviews on this issue. An important distinction can be made concerning the level of importance the interviewees assume at this point. There is a common feature between Austria and Germany, whose interviewees do not consider the internationalisation topic much. This could be due to the interview process, which might have avoided this topic or because the high level of the universities in both countries might be a factor that attracts more incoming students than outgoing ones. The head of the career centre at the Austrian university noted the low level of exchange students that: companies often ask for it so the services offered here are important. But on the 116

118 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project other hand the quality of life in Vienna is high. So it is understandable that many graduates want to stay here. Also, many international companies have their headquarters and thus international jobs in Vienna, this may not be sufficiently accounted for in e.g. rankings. There were no other comments by German interviewees on this topic. This highlights the minor importance that these contexts attribute to internationalisation. On the contrary, other countries such as Italy, Slovenia and Poland show similarities in their openness towards internationalisation. A former dean from Polish university said that they always have attempted to look beyond borders, and create a modern and international feel to our institution. A characteristic feature of the Academy is the very well developed level of international cooperation. Participation in the Erasmus Programme and numerous bilateral agreements results in a very broad offer of studies abroad. With the majority of students working while studying, the option of studies abroad for one or two semesters is effectively only available to full-time students. With high grade and language requirements, often the number of offers exceeds the number of interested students. This is a common feature of all other universities in all three countries. Further, in order to increase the number of exchange students some universities offer English courses, in some cases bypassing the legal requirements as in the case of Slovenia where the law recognises Slovenian as the only language for use at universities. Regardless of the issues that Turkey has with the Erasmus framework, every year lecturers and students participate in mobility projects. Finally, one can draw some significant conclusions from the word tree relation in Figure Figure 5.11: Word Tree Relation for Internationalisation Source: Own elaboration of the WP6 interviews. The internationalisation is mostly associated with the Bologna Process, the mobility of students, cooperation and, most importantly, with strategy. Internationalisation is becoming an important feature of universities strategies in order to enhance their students outcome. Nevertheless, as noted before, the Austrian and German interviewees showed no significant interest in internationalisation. The practical orientation of the study programmes is highly stressed activities so as to enhance graduates transition to the labour market Practical orientation is deemed to be important by the majority of interviewees, which reveals the significance of practical work for students. Indeed, it marries the theoretical knowledge from the bachelor curricula with the professional skills that can be offered by businesses, offering a highly valuable experience for students who elect to do an internship. The Austrian interviewees prove to be more convinced of the high importance of internships for students. A representative of the Austrian Career centre noted that: We always point out that the study duration is 117

119 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates relative. It is better to lose a semester for an internship than graduate without any practical experience because then the prospects are bad in the labour market. Another professor from an Austrian university stresses that internship at his university is compulsory and fairly long (recommended from 5 to 6 months) so students can be really trained to actually work on a project. We have a number of companies who regularly take interns and also communicate vacancies, and most of our lecturers are external lecturers who work for companies that might be interested in interns. But we do not place students in internships that do not really offer market experience. It s fairly brutal, it s tough, but it s what life is going to be like.... This is why we don t actually hand internships out on a plate at all. Nevertheless, one has to consider even the opportunity costs of sustaining a compulsory internship since it can suspend students studies and consequently postpone the graduation period. A professor from an Austrian university had scepticism about the use of internships: they can be very useful to realise what the acquired theories and methods are good for. I am not sure whether we should make it compulsory or not. Germany shows a very similar practical orientation to Austria. The interviewees noted that they have several tools to communicate with businesses which offer internships positions and, furthermore, they offer positions to non-academic lecturers in order to share their professional experience with students. Poland reveals a very different scenario. As a higher education manager from a Polish university noted: The HEI aims to involve market leaders and employers to set up apprentice programmes for students. This however is still a weak area for the HEI as not enough is being done. Nevertheless, it is a part of the Faculty s strategy. The same worries come from the Head of the Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan. While Poland is trying to improve the practical orientation aspect, Slovenia shows a more advanced scenario in the implementation of internships, but it is still problematic. A higher education manager from a Slovenian business faculty noted that despite practical training being obligatory and that students go to a company for several weeks, she is not satisfied with the practical training as it is now because students get easy tasks due to the short period of their training and employers are not interested in investing too much time and energy. So the internship turns to be a waste of time for both of them. The Vice-Rector for the Students Affairs of the same university shares the same opinion: The problem with practical training is that the work of students done during the training is very limited they are there several weeks and it is very difficult to give them a larger amount of work, they also don t have enough time so that the students and employers get to know each other very well, they don t get a real picture of the environment. Thus, it is not important how long he stays there, but what is the quality of the time spent at the practical training. If the time spent at the practical training is longer, the students would get more responsible tasks but this is not possible due to attendance at the classrooms. In Italy, a higher education manager from one of the Italian management faculties noted that the internship placement office organises around 500 internships per year. There is an annual event of Career Days for recruitment purposes, in addition to minor recruitment events. In addition, the university offers a webservice (Alma Laurea) that creates a virtual space where graduates can get in touch with employers. 118

120 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project The inclusion of students in research not only enhances their methodological skills but increases opportunities for their future employment The aim of this topic is to discover how HEIs try to enhance students future activities through their participation in research projects; common research projects with employers or other factors. Nowadays, HEIs are changing. The push towards academic research inevitably influences teaching and participation in research projects. Practical research is currently becoming indispensable and partnerships with businesses are rapidly increasing. The inclusion of students in such projects not only enhances their methodological skills but increases the chances of future employment. Nevertheless, the domain of business and economics is not as attractive as other applied sciences (i.e. bio-technology; engineering) for business to participate in research projects. In addition, the high number of students again decreases the opportunities for working in such research projects. These issues are shared among all the interviewees from the different countries who commented on the research impact on students career success. The orienting and placement office manager of one Italian university noted that: Academic research is widely funded by companies; it is consistent with both companies needs for evolution and faculty needs to enhance students training. It therefore has an indirect positive influence on graduates employability. Despite the low number of students that get involved in research projects, a professor of one university in Italy noted that some of them get an internship thanks to it but with almost no further job opportunity. Nonetheless, students involved with research projects gain ready-to-use competences and foster their entrance into the market. In conclusion, students inclusion in research projects offers them more opportunity to enhance their methodological skills, advance their professional knowledge and offer future opportunities to get a job. On the other hand, one should consider that only a small number of students can use this opportunity, thus the overall effect is not very significant. A limited focus on innovative teaching and learning modes In general, there were not many comments on teachers training and modes. A common outline is the orientation towards teaching modes, with group assignments, workshops, case-study-based projects etc., deemed particularly important for building graduates attractiveness to employers. Regarding the evaluation of teaching quality, only some professors from Slovenia and Turkey noted that student questionnaires are used to assess each teacher quality. Nevertheless, none of them specifies the likelihood of using students assessments to improve teaching quality. Students evaluations cannot be used as effective tools to measure the teacher quality in training students, thereby influencing their future short- and long-term career success. Forging relationships between HEIs and stakeholders vacant jobs In order to ensure an effective transition of graduates to the market, universities should not only care about the training period, but even create points of contacts between future graduates and businesses interested in hiring new professionals. This is a common belief of all the interviewees who explicitly or implicitly hold this opinion. While all interviewees show the same attitude to the need to enhance points of contact with the market through the use of a Career Centre or other establishments (as in the case of Slovenia), a former rector of Austrian university noted that: Our HEI always had a lot of contacts but... it will decrease or be reduced 119

121 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates to certain contacts. Sometimes a high number of contacts leads to wasted time in managing the relationship between students and businesses. Thus, a few but still a good number of contacts can assure the quality of the relationship. Career centres: Shifts from best practices to failed attempts Career Centres are a common organisational solution to manage the relationships between students and employers. The applications of career centre range from best practices, as in the case of one Austrian university where the head of the career centre claimed that there are approximately as many jobs as graduates available each year, to unsuccessful cases where the implementation of the Career Centres fails. A higher education manager from a Polish university noted that: There is quite an active Careers Bureau which operates centrally at the HEI, however it does not specialise in jobs for economists. A few attempts to develop such a centre at the Faculty ended in failure. This might be attributed to the relatively small scale of the Faculty with too little interest being paid by prospective employers. The lack of resources didn t permit the HEI to develop this activity on a larger scale. This opinion is shared by all other interviewees from the same university. Italy shows a similar situation. The representative of the department of management at one Italian university noted that the relationships with companies and other relevant stakeholders are maintained individually by professors and are not institutionalised. They mainly deal with consultancy activities of the professors and are helpful for those few students who are actively involved Future developmental needs The interviewees standpoints on the first sections of the interview revealed several issues related to successful employability in the short- and long-term. The last part of the interview refers to practical solutions to the background problem and the major developmental needs of each HEI. The centrality of the follow-up surveys (tracer studies) An important issue highlighted by the Austrian interviewees is the missing data on graduates histories. A professor from one of the Austrian universities noted that: We do not know what happens to the graduates after finishing universit). The information systems on graduates histories play a crucial role in designing and implementing efficient strategies in assuring students career success. Thus, one should first consider the ability of HEIs to collect useful data, rather than adopting changes that might produce unwanted effects. The same view was voiced by the Vice-Dean of Students Affairs at the Polish university who noted: A regular tracer study that will allow the HEI to gather full knowledge about the market position of graduates at some (relatively short) time after graduation (for instance 6 months) and after a longer time (for instance 5 years after graduation). This type of data collection system would highlight the fluctuations of a graduate s career and supply the HEI with data that could be assembled to show continuous market activity by its graduates. Uncertainty on the future development of innovative teaching modes Despite the push towards the use of case studies and other practical didactic methods that emerges from the solutions mentioned by different interviewees from Poland, Slovenia, Turkey and Italy, interviewees 120

122 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project from Austria and Germany tended to be more confident about actual methods. These mixed approaches tend to increase students risk of having neither a good professional profile nor a broad, theoretical education. The Head of the Career Centre of one Austrian university thought this is a common problem to all Austrian universities: we need to decide what we want to provide in the future, either broad education or specific, career relevant skill. Limiting the number of students in a class A professor from Italian university noted that effective teaching can be achieved with smaller classes, where the use of groups in team-working; case studies; guest speakers, is more feasible: Developing classes with no more than 40/50 students as a way to increase the participation within the learning group. This might be a suitable solution to provide practical experience while establishing a good theoretical background for the students. Nevertheless, small numbers in class are quite difficult to achieve due to the mass university trend that is characterising the European Higher Education Area. Defending this perspective, an expert from the Faculty of Business and Economics at German university noted that: the number of students will highly increase in the next years due to the reduction of school years for the A-levels (from nine to eight years) and the abolition of compulsory military service in Germany. At the same time, the qualifications of students will not increase. This means that there is an increasing number of students at the university who do not fulfil the introductory qualifications since schools have similar problems as universities have. Another issue raised by the above interviewee is the decreasing quality of students due to the overall impoverishment of the school system, which does not provide good quality students. The question of the future development of career centres remains open A common opinion of all interviewees is the relevancy of the career centre as a feature that has a key role in determining the career success of students in their future employment. Nevertheless, there are no particular and pragmatic thoughts on such issue, only a general belief about the role of the career centre Conclusion Business and Economics is a wide domain with a continuous growing number of graduates. This trend, jointly with the Bologna Process, has inevitably influenced the curricula in all countries with different results on graduates results and work placement. While some countries (i.e. Germania; Austria, Poland) have adopted new programs with the aim of facilitating graduates shift towards the market, others (i.e. Turkey, Italy, Slovenia) show a low percentage of graduates with work experience related to their studies. Nevertheless, the common ways graduates use to find employment is through personal efforts and not by Universities. This raises worries about the strategies that HEIs have to implement in order to assure an effective transition towards the market. Thus, the second part of the chapter reports the outlooks of 34 academics and non-academics from the six partner countries of the DEHEMS project on different issues (Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Poland, Italy and Turkey). The interviewees show different perspectives on the three themes of the interview which aimed to discuss and reveal opinions on the knowledge about the career success of the students at each HEI; what is the actual role of the HEI in determining the career success of its students; and what is the opinion of each interviewee on future actions to bring about improvement. 121

123 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates The significant heterogeneity of the interviewees backgrounds, specific HEIs and country contexts determines much of the dissimilarity in the various views, starting from the personal concept of career success to the issues each HEI addressed when dealing with specific topics: teaching/curriculum development; research; relationships between HEI and other groups; and other services. The opinions reveal a certain similarity within two main clusters: 1) Austria and Germany; and 2) Poland, Slovenia, Italy and Turkey. The main factor that determines clusters boundaries seems to be HEI autonomy which influences the way the HEIs manage career success. Nevertheless, all interviewees share quite a few opinions on possible actions to take at each HEI in order to improve the career success of their students. 122

124 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Mateja Melink, Samo Pavlin, Božidar Grigić * 5.2 EDUCATION AND TEACHING STUDIES Introduction Several scholars and EU policies stress the importance of quality teacher education as teachers represent the link between education from pre-school to higher and adult education and the world of work. Appropriate education is the key element in the European Union, following the goals of the Lisbon Strategy 35 ( ). National governments and European institutions have declared that a highly educated population is a key determinant of economic success and sustainability (ETUCE 2008, 12). Further, the European Council (Official Journal of the European Union 2009) recognises that the knowledge, skills and commitment of teachers, as well as the quality of school leadership, are the most important factors in achieving high quality educational outcomes. Good teaching and the ability to inspire all pupils to achieve their very best can have a lasting positive impact on young people s futures. For this reason, it is essential not only to ensure that those recruited to teaching and school leadership posts are of the highest calibre, and well-suited to the tasks they have to fulfil, but also to provide the highest standard of initial education and continuing professional development for teaching stuff at all levels. The central role of teachers is recognised not only by the European Union but also by the OECD (2005, 2), stressing that the demands on schools and teachers are becoming more complex as the role of teachers is being transferred from knowledge providers to actors for the development of competencies. Society now expects schools to deal effectively with different languages and different youth backgrounds, to be sensitive to culture and gender issues, to promote tolerance and social cohesion, to respond effectively to disadvantaged students and students with learning or behavioural problems, to use new technologies, and to keep pace with rapidly developing fields of knowledge and approaches to student assessment. High quality teacher education is essential for the quality and relevance of education at all levels, and to the high status of the teaching profession itself (ETUCE 2008, 12). It is generally agreed that teacher education has to be conceived as an open and dynamic system, and as a part of a continuous process. As an open and dynamic system, teacher education is embedded in different spheres: society in general, the state, universities, colleges of education, schools and with a large number of different actors (e.g. teacher educators, teachers, politicians, administrators and school inspectors) (Buchberger et al. 2000, 4). As seen from the above paragraphs, teacher education and education sciences are large systems and a crucial factor in providing knowledge and skills for teaching millions and millions of children and youth across Europe and across the globe. Because of its indirect impact on society as a whole, we also cannot neglect the importance of quality teacher education and research in this field is also extremely important if we want to ensure the appropriate implementation and development of teacher education and educational sciences. This chapter is based on the national reports on teaching and education studies from the DEHEMS countries and statistical analysis. However, for the purpose of the last section (4.2.6), 36 representatives of * Support: Nevenka Černigoj Sadar, Matej Godnič, Miroljub Ignjatović, Anton Kramberger 35 The Union follows a strategic goal to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion (European Parliament 2000). 123

125 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates higher education institutions in the field of education and teaching studies in six DEHEMS countries were also interviewed in order to obtain information about the transition of graduates into the world of work, the characteristics of programmes and development needs in the area. These interviews were conducted with 7 staff with academic experience and 22 people with HE management roles. Universities, faculties, higher professional schools, an academy and career centre were approached, in total making 26 different institutions Statistical overview of the domain Number of graduates As Table 5.15 shows, in the field of education the number of graduates is growing over the years in Austria, Germany and especially in Turkey, where the number rose from 56,000 in 2005 to 71,000 in On the other side, in Slovenia and Italy numbers of graduates have been dropping over the years. However, when looking at percentages of the DEHEMS countries the share of graduates from the field of education is constantly growing, but Slovenia and Turkey have constantly shrinking shares of education graduates. The biggest shares of graduates from the education field are in Turkey (around 25%) and Poland (around 15%), while the lowest shares are seen in Austria, Italy and Germany (below 10%). Table 5.15: Numbers of graduates in the education field Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey % of tertiary graduates Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey Source: Own elaboration based on OECD (2011) Gender distribution Teaching is one of the most highly feminised professions in Western democracies. As the Commission of the European Communities (2007) points out, in all European Union countries except one, over 70% of teachers in primary education are women (in some countries this proportion is considerably higher). The proportion of women teachers in lower secondary education is not as high as in primary education. While the proportion of women in upper secondary education is less striking, they outnumber men in nearly all countries (Drudy in Hudson and Zgaga, 2008; 43). 124

126 IT SP FR AT DE NL UK FI NO CZ PT BE EE SI TR LT PL HU TOTAL Percent of answers Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Figure 5.12: Ratio of males and females in education and teaching studies 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Female Male Country Source: Own calculation based on HEGESCO and REFLEX data. Note: The total represents the average value of all countries in the Hegesco and Reflex databases. According to Figure 5.12 that stems from the HEGESCO and REFLEX databases, one can see that the graphs only confirm the above statements. The ratio of women in education and teaching studies ranges from 73% in Germany up to 90% in Poland. The only exception here is Turkey where men outnumber women. As reported by the Turkish partner, there is also female dominance in this professional field, but males prevail mostly in vocational/technical subjects. Feminisation of this profession is also evident from the statistical data contained in the DEHEMS national reports. Austria and Slovenia reported that 80% of all their graduates in the field of education and teaching studies are females. Also Poland pointed out that in the study fields of education and teaching the female domination is very strong, with the proportion of women reaching 74%. The highest proportion of women is found in Special Education with 86%. The situation is not very different in Germany where on average 70% of the students are female. There is also female dominance in most of the study programmes from this professional field in Turkey. However, in physical education and sport and technical education programmes, the share of males is higher (65% of males in physical education and 80% of males in technical education) Parents education Socio-biographic background is an important factor of education as it is inevitable and closely connected with the process of primary socialisation which takes place during childhood, usually in the range of parents. It is well known that parents have an important impact on our subsequent career. Therefore, one has to take their status and their education into consideration, as it is still evident that there is a higher proportion of students entering higher education whose parents have a higher education compared to children whose parents have a lower education (see Schomburg and Teichler 2006, 30). We can assume that parents education in the case of future teachers plays an above-average role due to it generating social values and competencies. 125

127 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Table 5.16: Highest education of father and mother by country for graduates of the education and teaching studies (in percent) ISCED 1+2 ISCED 3+4 ISCED 5+6 Father Mother Father Mother Father Mother Italy Austria Germany Slovenia Turkey Poland Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Table 5.16 shows that a majority of parents of education and teaching studies graduates obtained an education equivalent to ISCED 3+4 (see the total). The percentages of ISCED 1+2 and ISCED 5+6 are almost equal. As we can see from the table, there are some large deviations. In Germany there are only minor shares of parents who obtained an ISCED 1+2 education and a majority who obtained the highest levels of education. On the contrary, in Austria and in Italy the majority of parents obtained ISCED 1+2. In all countries, except Poland, the shares of fathers with ISCED 5+6 are bigger than those of mothers Mobility The European Council (Official Journal of the EU 2009) recommends the gradual expansion of mobility for teachers and trainers with a view to making periods of learning abroad the rule rather than the exception, which define as one of the priorities during the first work cycle the need to focus on the quality of initial education and early career support for new teachers, as well as on raising the quality of continuing professional development / /. According to the HEGESCO/REFLEX data, the percentages of graduates from the professional domain of education and teaching studies who spent some time abroad during their higher education for study-related reasons are the lowest, compared to other professional domains (business and economics, engineering, life sciences, medicine, sociology and political science) 12% (total) in education and teaching studies compared to 20% (total) in sociology and political sciences which is the field with the highest percentage of student mobility. Within study programmes of education and teaching studies, the shares of study mobility are the highest in Austria where 27% of graduates reported they had spent some time abroad. The smallest percentage is in Turkey where only 3% of graduates went abroad for study-related reasons. 126

128 TR UK SP PT SI NO IT LT PL EE HU CZ DE NL FI FR BE AT TOTAL Per cent of naswers Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Figure 5.13: Spending time abroad during higher education for study, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question K5 (Hegesco), K5 (Reflex): Did you spend any time abroad during your higher education for study? ''Yes'' responses. These shares are even lower when it comes to graduates mobility for work-related reasons, where 12% of Polish graduates reported they had spent time abroad during higher education for work-related reasons, with this being the highest percentage among all DEHEMS countries Study provisions and conditions In all DEHEMS countries most study programmes are offered by faculties of education, although some of them are also offered by other faculties where study programmes have a pedagogic orientation (music academies, fine arts academies, physical academies). Alongside the public universities, there are also foundation (non-profit private) universities in Turkey but, on the other hand, there are no private institutions in Slovenia offering study programmes in this professional field. After implementing the Bologna directions in study programmes across Europe, there were some debates about which level of study programme is sufficient for students to become teachers and professionals in education sciences. ETUCE (2008, 8) agrees that all teachers are educated to master s level. The demands teachers face today in terms of in-depth subject knowledge, advanced pedagogical skills, reflective practice and the ability to adapt teaching to the needs of a group of learners as a whole require that teachers are highly educated and equipped with the ability to integrate knowledge and handle complexity at the level which characterises studies at the master s level. Especially teachers without a subject specialisation, that is mostly teachers in primary schools, have to have a broad range of knowledge from different fields, ranging from natural and technical to social subjects. The following figure shows the results from the Hegesco and Reflex databases for teaching and education studies concerning the extent to which the study programmes had a broad focus. 127

129 FR UK TR LT PT NL SI SP CZ NO PL EE IT AT HU DE BE FI TOTAL Per cent of answers Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Figure 5.14: Broad focus of study programme, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question A5d (Hegesco), A6d (Reflex): To what extent did the programme have a broad focus? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent''. Concentrating on the DEHEMS countries (coloured in yellow), one can see that three-quarters of graduates from Germany reported that their study programme had a broad focus, but on the other side only one out of three graduates in Turkey said their study programmes were more broadly oriented Programme particularities Germany: Teaching education encompasses a theoretical and practical part. Besides two subjects (like biology and mathematics), for students who want to teach in school later on, the curriculum includes pedagogy (general and school pedagogy), psychology, sociology and technical didactics. The duration of teaching studies for elementary schools is 7 semesters (3,5 years), for teaching education for middle school from 7 to 9 semesters (3.5 to 4.5 years), for teaching education for "Gymnasium" from 9 to 12 semesters (4.5 to 6 years), for teaching education for vocational schools 9 semesters (4.5 years) and special education from 9 to 12 semesters (4.5 to 6 years). The traditional degree is the state exam which is organised and conducted by the state authorities and not by the university itself. Poland: According to the regulations of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, first-cycle studies in pedagogy are expected to last at least 6 semesters and include at least 1,800 hours of courses, with the total number of ECTS credit points equalling at least 180. As for second-cycle studies, they last for at least 4 semesters and include at least 800 contact hours, with the total number of ECTS credit points equalling at least 120. Programmes offered in the field of pedagogy include programmes leading to two degrees: licencjat (the equivalent of a BA) after the first-cycle programme and magister (the equivalent of an MA) after the first-cycle programme. It is expected that a graduate in pedagogy (first-cycle studies) has basic knowledge of general pedagogy, history, philosophy, sociology and psychology that is indispensable for understanding the social and cultural contexts of the education process He/she has the ability for social communication, using diagnostic tools improving own knowledge, competences and methodical workshop. Graduate should know at least one foreign language at the B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) put together by the Council of Europe and be prepared for undertaking the studies of the second cycle. 128

130 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project As for second-cycle studies, it is expected that a graduate has mastered and broadened in relation to firstcycle studies knowledge of pedagogy. A graduate is reliably prepared for specific education-related professional activity. He/she is able to carry out research activity and able to resolve theoretical and practical problems related to the sphere of upbringing and education. It is also assumed that a pedagogy graduate is prepared to undertake third-cycle studies. Austria: Bachelor programmes at universities of education last for six semesters and are specifically aimed at providing the competencies needed by teachers at primary schools and lower secondary schools. Students usually have to pass entrance examinations that assess whether an applicant is qualified to become a teacher (e.g. musical and physical requirements, command of German, personality; see University of Education Vienna 2010, 873]). Students are educated in basic competencies as well as in the areas of human sciences, special branches of science, technical didactics, pedagogics, and other fields to a limited extent (University of Education Vienna 2010, 873; University of Education Vienna 2010; 874) 37. While universities of education focus on educating rather general teachers of primary and lower secondary schools, the teaching at Academic secondary schools and Higher technical and vocational colleges (see the Austria country report) is organised subject-wise, i.e. at the respective university, faculty or academic unit for this professional field (e.g. German teachers are educated at the same unit as students of German Philology). 38 Italy: Primary-level teaching and education science LvO has a four-year full-time equivalent duration and aims to train pre-primary and primary teachers. The first and second years are devoted to endowing students with core knowledge. During the latter two years, students choose a pre-primary or primary emphasis and specialise in related subjects. Among 94 ISCED 5A second degree level (equivalent to France s Maîtrise), a number of four commits with the teaching and education professional domain. Such programmes are denominated Laurea Magistrale (LM) and, as for the 5A first degree level, are offered by Italian public and private universities. They have a duration of two years in the full-time equivalent; it requires a final individual dissertation to be produced and a public discussion, after which a 5A second fully recognised degree is conferred on students. Admission requires the successful completion of a Laurea programme from the same study field, as L 19 class programmes or LvO, but a personalised analysis of candidates backgrounds is always conducted to check whether all subjects considered relevant to enrol and attend in the second-level programmes had been met during the preceding study career. In case candi- The minimum curriculum contents requires HEIs to offer at least 330 hours (45 ECTS points) of courses on so-called basic content (treści podstawowe) and 210 hours (28 ECTS points) of courses on field-specific content (treści kierunkowe). As for basic content it includes: philosophy (75 hours), psychology (90 hours), sociology (90 hours), pedagogical notions and systems (75 hours). The field-specific contents include history of pedagogical thought, theoretical basics of upbringing and education, social pedagogy. There are no specific regulations on the number of course hours devoted to each of these domains. 37 The University of Education Vienna is but one of many universities of education in Austria (see sections 2 and 3: types and number of institutions). With respect to institutional differences, curricula can be regarded as widely homogenous. When comparing curricula descriptions of different universities of education the extent of generality is similar (see e.g. [University of Education Vorarlberg, 2010; 875]). 38 A practical training period is compulsory in the curricula. For twelve weeks students accompany experienced teachers in an academic secondary school or a higher technical and vocational college in their lessons ([University of Vienna 2009, 879]). Topics in the curricula include the four areas subject-specific scientific knowledge, technical didactics, pedagogics, and school practics ([Haddad_Internet_Services 2009, 878]). 129

131 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates dates encounter a shortage in some subjects, they are allowed to enrol and required to attend extra courses in order to fill those gaps. Turkey: There is increasing demand to meet the needs of the newly organised eight-year system of compulsory education. Elementary school education aims to train teachers to meet this demand and to understand how children learn and develop skills. Generally, departments offer four programmes: teacher training in natural sciences; teacher training for primary schools; teacher training for elementary education in Mathematics; teacher training in Social Sciences. Teacher training programmes are centrally developed and implemented at all Turkish universities offering these programmes. At the national level there is a Teacher Training National Commission, which is headed by the Council of Higher Education and consists of five deans of faculties from different HEIs and representatives at the directorate level of the Ministry of National Education. This Commission holds regular monthly meetings in order to develop and define the policy, strategy and the working practice. Since there are different programmes in elementary education, the courses and curriculum are constructed differently in each programme. The Turkish education system and general teaching courses are common to all programmes. In the programmes of Mathematics and Science the first two years of the programmes offer basic science courses like Fundamentals of Mathematics and Basic Physics. The second-year scientific and statistical knowledge of the students is called into play by introducing more advanced theoretical courses. In the third and fourth years of the programmes there are elective courses besides the core courses. The fourth year is especially based on practice in teaching for elementary education. A formal practical training is required for graduation. In the graduate programmes the compulsory courses are Development and Assessment of Programmes in Primary Education, Research Methods, Learning and Teaching Approaches. There are also elective courses in several fields of primary education. Slovenia: Education and teaching studies are offered by three faculties at three universities. These are the Faculty of Education at the University of Ljubljana, the Faculty of Education at the University of Maribor, and the Faculty of Education at the University of Primorska. At the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana students can choose between various study programmes: Primary teacher education, The two-subject teacher, Art pedagogy, Special and rehabilitation pedagogy, Visually impaired education and the pedagogy of specific learning difficulties, Social pedagogy and Preschool Education. The education of subject teachers is also performed at other faculties such as the Faculty of Arts, the Biotechnical Faculty etc.) Study programmes in the 1 st cycle (undergraduate study programmes) last four years (eight semesters) and contain 240 credit points (ECTS). The exception is the Preschool education study programme which last three years and is implemented on a higher professional level. Students who finish the 1 st cycle of study programmes from this professional domain are not entitled to work independently in the classroom. The Faculty of Education offers several study programmes from various fields of education. The primary teacher education study programme enables students who have completed the 2 nd level of the study programme to work in primary schools from 1 st to 5 th class. In the two-subject teacher study programme, students can choose from among several orientations and the programme includes three components: obligatory general subjects in two orientations (two subject areas of teaching), selected from the following: biology, chemistry, computing, home economics, mathematics, physics and technical education. This study programme is usually aimed at those who teach on the 2 nd level of primary school (from 6 th to 9 th class) Primary schools have two levels: 1st level (class level) is attended by pupils from 6 to 10 years, 2nd level (subject level) is attended by pupils from 11 to 15 years. 130

132 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Faculties also implement several study programmes with a specific pedagogic orientation: art pedagogy, special and rehabilitation pedagogy, visually impaired education and the pedagogy of specific learning difficulties, social pedagogy Teaching and learning modes One of the key elements of teacher education is to ensure the right combination between theory and practice. This also includes ensuring the right combination of teaching practice as an element of formal education programmes at the teacher education institute and teaching practice arranged as separate periods at school (ETUCE 2008, 23-24). In Table 5.17, we provide results on the average score of teaching and learning characteristics. Table 5.17: Average score of assessments of teaching and learning characteristics in the education domain (mean of possible answers ranged from 1 to 5- see REFLEX/HEGESCO questionnaire) Non-DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Total The extent to which the following characteristic was emphasised in the study programme: Multiple-choice exams Oral presentations Written assignments Problem-based learning The teacher as the main source of information Theories and paradigms Research project Group assignments Lectures Academically prestigious programme Employers familiar with the content of the programme To what extent has your study programme been a good basis for: Personal development Performing your current work tasks Starting work Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. While there are very few differences between the field of education and other domains, there are very obvious differences in the assessment methods among countries in this domain: - There is the highly above-average use of multiple-choice exams in Poland (3.27), while in Germany, Slovenia and Austria it is far below-average (1.6 or less). - In Germany and Italy (around 3.7) they use oral presentations more often than in other countries, where the average stands at Written assignments are used to quite a large extent (3.6 on average), while the highest usage is in Austria (4.05) and the lowest in Turkey and Italy (2.9). 131

133 BE PT TR SP PL UK LT HU NL NO CZ IT EE FR DE SI AT FI TOTAL Per cent of answers Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates - Problem-based learning is, as already mentioned, low as in other domains and quite equally used in all DEHEMS countries (2.66), with the highest results in Poland (2.94). - In Italy and Austria (3.8) teachers are more frequently seen as the main source of information than in other countries, where the average is A research project as an assessment method is across countries on average very rarely (2.01) used. The highest usage is noted in Turkey with 2.73 and lowest in Austria and Germany with Group assignments are most often used in Poland (above the average of 3.27) and less often in Slovenia and Italy (below-average). - Lectures are most often (3.93) also used in this domain across all DEHEMS countries, although the highest frequency can be noted in Slovenia with 4.18 and the lowest in Turkey with Employers are less often familiar with the content of the programme in Germany, Italy, Turkey and Austria than in other countries, where the average is 3.3. Across the countries graduates see the programme as a good basis for personal development with an average of 3.8 and the highest result in Austria (4.31). The lowest result was achieved by Turkey, where graduates also to the lowest extent see education programmes as a good basis for performing current work tasks and for starting work. Regarding the DEHEMS countries, teamwork is emphasised the most in Polish study programmes of teaching and education where around two-thirds of graduates reported that group assignments took up a large part of their study programme. On the contrary, in Italy only one of four graduates reported there was a great emphasis on teamwork in their study programme. Project and problem-based learning is considered as situational learning where students are confronted with practical or real-life tasks they need to solve. Therefore, some scholars put a lot of emphasis on the importance of such learning. Compared to other learning and teaching modes, project and problem-based learning do not receive a great emphasis in study programmes. One-third of Polish graduates reported that this kind of learning took up a large part of their studies and 20% of Austrian graduates also said this. Figure 5.15 shows the percentage shares of those graduates who reported they had acquired study-related work experiences. As the graph indicates, this percentage was over 50 in four DEHEMS countries: Germany, Slovenia, Austria and Italy. Figure 5.15: Study-related work experiences during study, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question B3 (Hegesco), B3 (Reflex): Have you acquired any study-related work experiences? ''Yes'' responses on a scale of ''yes'' and ''no'' answers. 132

134 IT CZ FR AT SI LT FI DE UK EE NO HU PT PL SP NL TR BE TOTAL Per cent of answers Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project According to Figure 5.15 Turkey is among those countries where acquired study-related work experiences are below-average. The Turkish partner reports that although an apprenticeship during university education is compulsory and part of the programme it seems that graduates are not content with the existing arrangement and are demanding more study-related work experience during their study time. But Figure 5.16 shows that participation in one or more work placements/internships as part of a study programme is highly embedded in study programmes in the field of teaching and education studies. There are also high percentages among Polish and German graduates but, on the other side, one-third of Italian graduates had attended practical training during their study programme. Figure 5.16: Participation in one or more work placements/internships as part of the study programme, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question A7 (Hegesco), A8 (Reflex): Did you take part in one or more work placements/internships as part of your study programme? ''Yes'' responses National characteristics of practical training Germany: All teacher education programmes include at least two practical trainings during the course of study. The length of the practical period depends on the institute and the chosen school-track (normally, study programmes for elementary school teachers include more and longer practical work than study programmes for Gymnasium). Schools of education have the highest percentage of practical training during study. Besides the practical trainings, teacher education often includes practically-oriented seminars which are taught at least partly directly in the school. The main practical training period is the "Referendariat" which follows after the first state exam or master s degree. Austria: A very important element of teachers education is practical training. Every student will have both the opportunity and obligation to apply the acquired knowledge and competencies in so-called practice schools ( Praxisschulen ). A practical training period is compulsory in the curricula. For 12 weeks, students accompany experienced teachers in an academic secondary school or a higher technical and vocational college in their lessons (University of Vienna 2009, 879). Topics in the curricula include the four 133

135 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates areas subject-specific scientific knowledge, technical didactics, pedagogics, and school practices (Haddad_Internet_Services 2009, 878). Poland: Students are required to undergo practical training that should last at least 8 weeks. The rules and form of this training are left up to the HEI to determine. The minimum programme also provides compulsory classes in foreign languages (120 hours, 5 ECTS credits), IT skills (30 hours, 2 ECTS credits) and physical activities (60 hours, with possibly 2 ECTS credits). As for IT skills it is assumed that the content of courses should enable students to pass the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL). It is formally required that the programme includes at least 60 hours of courses broadening the general knowledge of students (including classes on biomedical basics of development) and classes on the protection of property rights, work safety and ergonomics. Preparing for a final (BA) examination and preparing a (BA) thesis, if required by the programme, give students 10 ECTS credits. Turkey: Practice in preschool education is in the 3rd year and Teaching Practice is in the 4th year. Practice in preschool education is a course based on observations, interviews, practices and evaluations performed in order for preschool teacher candidates to learn about the school where the practicum will take place, the programme and the teachers. The preschool education practice is undertaken in the third year of the major as one full day (eight hours) a week for 24 weeks. Teaching Practice is a course aimed at allowing candidates to test and improve the knowledge and skills they have acquired through theoretical courses in a school environment and to gain the required professional skills. This course is taken in the fourth year of the programme as one full or two half days a week for 14 weeks. Slovenia: An obligatory part of study programmes at the faculties of education includes practical pedagogical teacher training. Students of primary teacher education have practical training in all years of study. The active participation of students in pedagogical work and the amount of independent work are increased from year to year for example, in the 4 th year the student does an individual practice. He/she teaches autonomously under the supervision of the mentor for four weeks and participates in all activities at the primary school for the duration of the practice (Valenčič Zuljan, 2011) Transition to employment and the first job Transition to employment In the field of education there are quite notable differences among the countries in terms of graduates search duration for their current job. The average search duration among DEHEMS countries is 3.6 months, which is a little less than the average search duration across all domains. However, inside the field Germany is far below the average where graduates search for a job on average for only 1.1 months. On the other side, graduates in Turkey are searching for their job for far longer, namely for 7.3 months. In Germany and Slovenia graduates of the education field are searching for their job for almost half the time than in other fields. 134

136 FR SP TR SI LT IT DE BE AT PL HU NL EE FI CZ PT UK NO TOTAL Per cent of answers Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Table 5.18: Search duration of graduates in the field of education and teaching studies DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Mean (months) SD Education/All domains Mean (ratio) SD Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Note: Search duration was calculated on the basis of the question How many months did you search before you obtained this employment (after graduation)? from REFLEX/HEGESCO questionnaire. Mean is an average of months, SD is standard deviation. Next, Figure 5.17 shows those responses of graduates who answered that their study programme was a good basis for starting work. The highest shares here are seen in Norway and the United Kingdom, but the DEHEMS countries are all on the left side of the graph. Half of the Polish and Austrian students reported that their study programme was sufficient for them to start with professional work and in the other countries only around one-third to 45% of graduates reported this. Figure 5.17: Study programme as a good basis for starting work, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question I1a (Hegesco), I1a (Reflex): To what extent has your study programme been a good basis for starting work? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent''. From the results of the question To what extent has your study programme been a good basis for starting work? we can see that across all domains it is a similar situation in the field of education where around 45% of graduates answered that their programme has been a good basis for starting work to a high or very high extent. Especially high percentages of such answers can be noted in Austria and other non-dehems countries (51% and up). However, in Austria, Germany and Italy graduates of this domain less often see the programme as a good basis for starting work compared to all domains in the same three countries. The reverse situation is revealed in Slovenia, where graduates in field of education more often believe their programmes are a good basis for starting work than in other studied fields. Table 5.19: Study programme as a basis for starting work: education vs. all domains DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Education (%)

137 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates All (%) Education/All (ratio) Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Graduates from the education field most often find employment by contacting employers on their own, which is an especially popular method in Poland and Austria and not so much in Italy. Quite often they also use family, friends or acquaintances (most often in Italy and Turkey), an advertisement in a newspaper, or they are approached by an employer (most frequently in Slovenia and other non-dehems countries) to get a job. 136

138 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Table 5.20: Graduates ways of finding work in the field of education DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Through an advertisement in newspaper 10,3 12,7 8,3 11,1 4,5 10,6 11,4 15,2 14 Through a public empl. ag. 8,9 2,8 1,9 2,8 10,7 10,3 17,1 4,7 5,7 Through a private empl. ag. 0,8 1,9 0 1,4 0 0,3 1,4 2 1,7 Through the Internet 3,9 2,8 6,5 2,8 10,7 0,5 6,6 4,8 4,6 Contacted employer on own initiative 30, ,2 15, ,6 20,9 25,9 27 Approached by an employer 10,3 8 5,6 8,3 4,5 16,7 7,6 14,1 13,2 Through a work placement during higher education 4,7 6,6 4,6 2,8 4,5 5,8 1,4 8,2 7,4 Through family, friends or acquaintances 15,4 9 6,5 22,2 14,3 14,3 26,5 15,1 15,2 With the help of the higher education institution 2,7 2,8 5,6 0 0,9 1,9 4,3 2,7 2,7 Set up my own business 0,9 0,9 0 5,6 0 0,5 1 1,2 1,1 Other 9,6 7, ,8 0 6,4 1,9 5,6 6,6 Through previous work 2,2 3, ,2 0 0,5 0,9 Total Education/All domains Through an advertisement in a newspaper 0,867 0,755 0,620 1,569 0,398 0,818 0,937 1,068 1,035 Through a public empl. ag. 2,158 2,378 0,651 1,433 1,227 1,402 4,171 1,038 1,299 Through a private empl. ag. 0,562 1,380 0,000 0,498 0,000 0,356 0,835 0,422 0,455 Through the Internet 0,557 0,547 0,836 0,632 0,984 0,327 0,392 0,597 0,592 Contacted an employer on own initiative 1,357 1,594 1,007 0,750 1,365 1,181 1,677 1,280 1,294 Approached by an employer 0,964 0,608 0,501 0,771 1,062 1,299 0,883 1,346 1,250 Through a work placement during higher education 0,789 0,854 0,539 0,553 1,183 0,826 0,467 0,816 0,834 Through family, friends or acquaintances 0,771 0,661 0,697 0,954 0,737 0,847 0,797 0,976 0,902 With the help of the higher education institution 0,521 0,458 1,536 0,000 0,359 0,685 0,910 0,488 0,499 Set up my own business 0,312 0,272 0,000 1,114 0,000 0,353 0,452 0,789 0,582 Other 1,338 2,013 2,306 2,750 0,000 0,808 1,810 1,165 1,191 Through previous work 1,618 2,118-0,000 0,000 0,972-1,146 1,271 Total 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Note: Each number in the top part of the table shows share of a given way of finding job in the population of graduates in employment they sum up to 100. In the bottom part is a ratio of a share for business to the general population showing specifics of channels of finding job for business domain graduates. If we compare the ways of finding employment in the field of education with other domains, we can note that public employment agencies (except Germany) and being contacted by an employer (except in Italy) are more frequent ways of finding employment in this field than across all domains. On the other hand, 137

139 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates graduates of the education domain less often find a job by setting up their own business (except Italy); with the help of the HEI (except Germany); through the Internet and through private employment agencies (except Austria) than graduates across all the domains Certification Teacher education is strongly regulated in most EU member states, and internal regulations may not always be fully in tune with other regulations influencing higher education. Today in Europe all secondary school teachers, almost all primary school and many pre-school teachers are educated to the first-degree level or equivalent. In many if not in most countries, the curricular components and standards of achievement follow national guidelines set by ministries of education or professional bodies such as teaching councils, lending a degree of homogeneity to programmes (Tuning Project 21). Austria: Most jobs in the teaching sector are located in the public sector (BMWF 2010, 872). Other employers like private schools only play a minor role in the professional domain of education and teaching studies. Unsurprisingly, the state as an employer has an impact on the content and structure of this domain. The Federal Minister for Women and Civil Service, organised within the Austrian Federal Chancellery, thus represents the state as an outside stakeholder. Whereas the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture as well as the Austrian Federal Ministry for Science and Research assume the state s responsibilities from within, i.e. as the superior body of the HEI concerned with the education of teachers. Due to the relatively large institutional autonomy of public universities, the state s influence on the curriculum design of all studies there hence also on teaching studies can be considered negligible. However, the state has still not withdrawn completely as a share of government representatives is compulsory on many important boards and committees. Further, the practical training period is a compulsory feature of all teaching studies and, as the dominant employer in this field, the state s interests can hardly be ignored. Apart from that, the autonomy mentioned above mainly applies to public universities and their teaching studies. Curricula at universities of education are regulated on a national basis in a tighter way. 40 Germany: The German state is a major player in teacher education. It is not only the main employer of public school teachers (only 6% of German schools were private in 2006), but it has also a strong influence on teacher education. Before the Bologna reform, all teacher education students needed to pass two state exams; the first at the end of their university studies and the second at the end of the "Referendariat practical training period". Both state exams are organised and conducted by state authorities (Staatliche Prüfungsämter oder -kommissionen der Länder) and NOT by the university itself. Currently (2010), this procedure is in the process of change. As a consequence of the Bologna reform, the master s degree will replace the state exam. The influence of the university on the kind, content and procedure of exams will thereby increase. Still, it is planned that the state will define the criteria for this degree and will also only accredit each exam after a formal examination. Before the Bologna reform, the federal ministries of culture and education were other major players in the teacher education. They were the main regulator of the teacher education by defining the study and exam- 40 Teaching in Austria s primary schools and lower secondary schools (ISCED levels 1 and 2) is generally performed by bachelor graduates from universities of education, whereas graduates from teaching studies at public universities cover the later part of secondary education (ISCED levels 3 and 4A ([BMUKK 2009,882]). Also, most graduates choose to pursue a career in accordance with their study field, i.e. they become teachers in primary and secondary education ([BMWF 2010, 872]). So, although employers have a very distinct group to recruit their personnel from and graduates have in the past shown a clear preference for their occupation,there is no standardised transition process from education studies to the labour market. 138

140 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project ination regulation. Since 2006, these regulations have been replaced by centrally defined standards of teacher education. In contrast to the former study and examination regulation, these standards are outputoriented. They define the main educational goals and occupation-related competencies which each student should acquire during study. The standards form the core curriculum which is the basis for the individual curriculum of each university. The fulfilment of the standards shall be controlled by accreditation agencies. 41 The transition process for teaching education graduates is strictly state-regulated. The university education finishes with the first state exam. Afterwards, graduates apply (at central offices of the federal states) for their "student teaching/teacher training" (Referendariat) period. This period takes between 18 to 24 months depending on the federal state involved. The graduates have during this period the status of a "civil servant on probation" (Beamter auf Widerruf). In the first two months of this period, graduates follow one or several teachers in their lessons (sitting and listening) and also take their own lessons (teaching experience) later on, involving up to 17 school-hours (namely, 45 minutes) a week. The teaching experience splits into lessons in which the regular teacher sits in the background and evaluates the lesson afterwards (informally, no exam). These lessons are called "Ausbildungsunterrricht" training lessons). Finally, the graduate has to prepare and teach lessons on their own (including preparing the tests, speaking with the parents etc.) the so-called "eigenständiger Unterricht" (independent lessons). 42 Slovenia: The state is the main stakeholder in this professional domain and plays a double role: as a main employer of graduates and as a governor regulating this profession. After completing a study programme, teachers must pass the State Teacher Certification Examination which is taken before the National Examination Board for professional competency examinations in the field of education and appointed by the Ministry of Education (Valenčič Zuljan et al. 2011). The transition from higher education to one s job position is defined by national legislation. Candidates for job positions in the educational field need to fulfil three requirements: knowledge of the Slovenian language, an appropriate level and direction of education (defined by the Ministry of Education) and a professional exam. If candidates do not have the appropriate pedagogic knowledge, they have to enrol in a study programme/training course for providing pedagogic/andragogic education for professionals in primary and secondary schools as provided by the faculties of education or faculties of arts. After a 6-month training period in an educational institution, trainees need to pass a professional exam in the field of education which is regulated by the Ministry of Education. After completing the appropriate field of study and passing the professional exam, students can obtain a fixed-term or unlimited term contract in educational institutions. Turkey: Teacher training programmes are centrally developed and implemented in all Turkish Universities. In every five-year period, the deans of the faculties offering teacher education programmes establish a 41 The standards were defined by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (abbr.: Kultusministerkonferenz - KMK) which unites the ministers and senators of the federal states ("Länder") responsible for education, higher education and research as well as cultural affairs. It is based on an agreement between the Länder. 42 Additionally, they are part of an accompanying seminar program (normally in three subjects: pedagogy and subject-related didactics in both teaching subjects) as well as school-relevant knowledge (like school-law etc.). The Referendariat ("student teacher training") finishes with the second state exams. The graduates (or "Referendare") have to hold one lesson in each subject which are evaluated, hand in one written thesis and have to pass one oral exam. The successful second state exam allows to apply for teaching positions at German schools. The purpose of the "Referendariat" is to impart teacher relevant competences: stress resistance, planning competence as well as competences necessary to develop, plan and teach good lessons. In the frame of the Bologna process, it is planned (and partly already done) to replace the state exam by exams which are organized and conducted by the university parallel to the study program - according to state-regulations. Additionally, the introduction of the master degree will shorten the "Referendariat" to months. 139

141 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates working group for reviewing curriculum development studies of the teacher training programmes. Teacher training programmes are modified according to changes in the education policy and strategy of the country in relation to new global demands. After the approval of programmes by the Council of Higher Education (CoHE), the programme implementation begins in the related departments. At the undergraduate level, 80% of the courses in the programme are core courses (required courses) while 20% of the courses in the programme are elective. The latter courses are decided on by the departments themselves according to their departmental mission and vision which is defined in accordance with local needs.43 No additional elements/exams/working periods are required to become a full member of the profession. Graduates of this domain may begin to work in governmental or private institutions directly. Poland: The state is the main and most important stakeholder in the domain of teaching and education. The Ministry of Education coordinates implementation of the National Qualifications Framework, while the Ministry of Science and Higher Education sets the minimum content of the curricula in all disciplines taught in HEIs. In the field of education and teaching, a special role is played by the Teachers Charter a legal act defining the rights and duties of teaching personnel working in the national education system, which covers matters such as the terms of remuneration, working time, promotion and retirement benefits. Trade unions might be perceived as another important player since they regard the Teachers' Charter as essentially a multi-employer collective agreement for the profession, and are therefore involved in the consulting stage of legislation process. The most important rules are stated in the Teachers Charter (Karta Nauczyciela) and in the Ministry s regulation on professional advancement. The Teachers' Charter (Karta Nauczyciela) is a statute regulating the rights and duties of all teaching personnel employed in the Polish education system, covering: - the duties of teachers; - the required qualifications; - professional advancement (promotion) paths; - rules governing the establishment, amendment and termination of the employment relationship; - pay and employment terms; - the scope of social benefits and vacation/leave entitlements; - conditions for continued professional development; - additional healthcare benefits; and - retirement entitlements Characteristics of jobs In most cases, the occupation of graduates from the field of education is a teaching professional, with a high percentage of 73.2% (the highest is in Slovenia 84% and the lowest is in Turkey and Italy with around 60%). Graduates of DEHEMS countries also work as other professionals (8%), especially in Aus- 43 Turkish higher education had already a three cycle degree (bachelor, master and doctoral) structure before Bologna Process and no change has been made according to Bologna; thus Turkish higher education system had no transition process. The duration of bachelor degree (first cycle) was four years and this duration is preserved. The duration of masters programs was 2 years (with thesis) and remained same. In teacher training programs all undergraduate programs has four year duration except Education in Natural Sciences and Education in Social Sciences programs which are five year programs. The graduates of these five year programs gain MSc or MA degree. This structure was also present before the Bologna. So there is also no transition process in Turkey in the field of teacher training education. The duration of doctoral programs was four years and this is also the same at the moment. There is no work done to change this structure. 140

142 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project tria and Germany (17%), but not so often in Turkey (just 0.5%). Other occupations are more countryspecific as can be seen in the table: other associated professionals in Italy and Turkey, teaching associated professional in Italy, Slovenia and other countries and corporate managers in Turkey and Italy. Table 5.21: Occupations of education graduates (in percent) DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Teaching professionals Other professionals Other associated professionals Teaching associate professionals Corporate managers Office clerks Physical, mathematical and engineering science professionals Managers of small enterprises Physical and engineering science associate professionals Personal and protective services professionals Life science and health professionals Life science and health associate professionals Customer services clerk Other Total Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. As the next figure shows, over 90% of graduates from the professional field of teaching and education studies in Slovenia reported they are employed in the public sector. This can be explained by the fact that most schools in Slovenia are part of the public sector. Yet there is a different picture in Turkey where onethird of teachers are employed in the public sector, and others in the private sector. 141

143 TR SP IT HU AT LT DE NO PT BE CZ PL EE NL FI FR UK SI TOTAL Per cent of answers Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Figure 5.18: Work in the public sector, by country (in percent) Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question G3 (Hegesco), G3 (Reflex): Do you work in the public or private sector? ''Public sector'' responses. Table 5.22 indicates that most graduates (59%) in education field signed a fixed-term contract for their first job, which is 28% more for fixed-term employment than in other domains. In Germany, Poland and Slovenia, these figures are even higher than 70%, while in Italy and Turkey we note the reverse situation where graduates more often sign a time-unlimited contract. Table 5.22: Type of contract in the first job: education vs. all domains Education DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total (%) Unlimited Fixed-term Other Education/All (ratio) Country Unlimited Fixed-term Other Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Figure 5.20 shows how satisfied graduates are with their current work. According to an OECD study (2005), teachers express concerns about the effects of high workloads, stress and poor working environments on job satisfaction and teaching effectiveness. 142

144 UK CZ TR IT HU AT FR SP SI NL NO DE FI BE EE LT PL PT TOTAL Per cent of answers TR PT LT HU SP EE IT CZ AT PL UK FI FR NL DE SI BE NO TOTAL Per cent of answers Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Figure 5.19: Satisfaction with current work, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question F13 (Hegesco), F13 (Reflex): How satisfied are you with your current work? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Very dissatisfied'' to 5 = ''Very satisfied''. In all countries, over 50% of graduates reported they are satisfied with their current work. These shares are the highest in Slovenia and in Germany, and the lowest in Turkey. The OECD study (2005) reports that almost all countries report concerns about qualitative shortfalls: whether enough teachers have the knowledge and skills to meet school needs. The figure below shows the percentages of those graduates who reported their work is more demanding than the knowledge and skills they possess, meaning there are some deficiencies. One-half of the Polish graduates reported their work is more demanding than their knowledge, while other countries figures range around 20%. Figure 5.20: More demanding work than the knowledge and skills possessed, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question F12 (Hegesco), F12 (Reflex): To what extent does your current work demand more knowledge and skills than you can actually offer? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent''. When we look at how much graduates utilise the knowledge and skills they gained through the programme in their current work, we see there is a slight difference between graduates of the education field and other domains. Graduates of this field utilise knowledge and skills almost 8 % more than graduates from all domains. However, such utilisation is low in Poland at 60.7%, which is also lower compared to all domains in this country. 143

145 TR NO HU FR IT PL PT LT BE EE NL SI SP CZ AT UK DE FI TOTAL Per cent of answeres Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Table 5.23: Utilised knowledge and skills in current work: education vs. all domains DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Education (%) All (%) Education/All (ratio) Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data Lifelong Learning Graduates in the HEGESCO and REFLEX databases reported whether they were included in follow-up training at their work. Over three-quarters of teaching and education studies graduates from Slovenia, Austria and Germany had taken a work-related training or course in the last year. But in Turkey less than 50% of graduates said they had obtained additional trainings or courses. Figure 5.21: Following any work-related training/course in the past 12 months, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question F14 (Hegesco), F14 (Reflex): Did you take any work-related training/course in the past 12 months? ''Yes'' responses on a scale of answers''yes'' and ''no''. Table 5.24: Work-related training/course in the past 12 months in the first job: education vs. domain DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Education (%) All (%) Education/All (ratio) Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. 69% of graduates stated that they had work-related training in the past 12 months in their first job. The highest result is in Germany, Austria and Slovenia (above 75%) and the lowest in Turkey with only 43% of graduates who had work-related training in the past 12 months. Comparing the results of this field with the results across all domains, we can see that in the field of education graduates more often have training than in other domains. 144

146 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project As shown by Table 5.25, half (51%) of the interviewed graduates of the education domain perceive the programme as a good basis for further learning on the job, and this result is comparable across domains with an average of 50%. The highest share of business and economics graduates believing the programme is a good basis for further learning on the job is noted in Poland (64%) and the lowest is in Turkey (37%). Table 5.25: Study programme as a good basis for further learning on the job: education vs. all domains DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Education (%) All (%) Education/All (ratio) Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data National characteristics of lifelong learning In Germany, lifelong learning courses are offered in all federal states mostly coordinated by central state-owned institutes 44 for teacher education. But private providers and universities are also offering courses. Until the end of the last century, teachers were strongly encouraged to participate in lifelong learning but there was no legal obligation to do so. Still, teachers could (and still can) take days off for course participation or there are Lifelong learning days in which all teachers participate in a course and the school is closed. Since the PISA shock, more federal states have introduced a mandatory training system for teachers. In Hessia and Bavaria, for example, every teacher has to collect a certain number of credit points (in a given time period) in order to fulfil the legal requirements for lifelong learning. In the other federal states, the school leaders are responsible for the further training of their teachers. As the schools are regularly evaluated, the school leaders are controlled regarding this activity. The first three or four years as young teachers (introductory years) are a particular focus of training course providers. In these years, specific courses are offered targeted at this group. School leaders are in particular encouraged to send their beginning teachers to these courses. The Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture suggests continuing education to regularly renew teachers knowledge and it also offers them a variety of courses and further education. In Slovenia, the lifelong learning process is regulated by the Ministry of Education under the rules on the in-service training of educational professionals and their amendments. Teachers can participate in inservice training right after they have completed undergraduate education in programmes of professional education that are published within the selection of programmes of further education and training. There are also other programmes for teachers who wish to gain new knowledge: thematic conferences, study groups, professional staff networks etc. These programmes are offered by the faculties themselves as well as other institutions: the national education institute, the national institute for vocational education and training etc. (Valenčič Zuljan, 2011, 312). Lifelong learning is also important in Turkey. The Turkish National Education Ministry is the official actor of the lifelong learning process. The National Education Ministry is the executive of the SVET (Strengthening the Vocational Education and Training System in Turkey) project. The Turkish Ministry of National Education developed and changed all pre, primary, secondary school curricula to student-centred 44 Staatliche Akademien, Landesinstitute oder wissenschaftliche Institute für Lehrerfortbildung 145

147 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates learning. The other official actors of lifelong learning are the Council of Higher Education, the Turkey Statistics Agency, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Social Services and Child Protection Agency, the Turkey Businessmen Organisation, the Institution of Vocational Qualifications. The Turkey Lifelong Learning Strategy Document, which is prepared with contributions from the official actors mentioned above, was approved by High Planning Council Decision No: 2009/21 on 5 June This document codifies the rules on lifelong learning on a legal basis. The universities themselves also take into consideration lifelong learning and try to review their curricula according to its demands. The Turkish Higher Education Council, the autonomous body responsible for the governance of Turkish higher education, strongly supports lifelong learning and calls on universities to develop their curricula to allow their graduates to be prepared for lifelong learning. In Poland the Ministry of Education s regulations on professional advancement require a trainee teacher to submit to the school director their own professional development plan within 20 days of the date of commencing classes. The school director approves the teacher's professional development plan within 30 days of the date of start of classes or returns it to the teacher indicating any necessary changes. The teacher is obliged to immediately improve the plan for professional development in accordance with the recommendations of the school and re-submit the plan to the school director. Within 30 days of the date of completion of the internship, the teacher shall present a report on realisation of the professional development plan to the school director. The mentor of the trainee teacher presents an assessment of the teacher's professional achievements for the period of training within 14 days of completing the training to the school director. Requirements for obtaining the position of a contract teacher: knowledge of the organisation, tasks and rules of the school where the teacher training takes place; the ability to teach in a way that ensures proper implementation of the statutory objectives of the school where the teacher training takes place; recognition of the pupils environment, their problems and the ability to work with the community of pupils; and the ability to discuss, run and observe classes. Requirements for obtaining the position of a tenured teacher: the ability to organise and master the relevant professional skills, to evaluate one s own activities, as well as to assess their effectiveness and make changes to those activities; the ability to include the developmental needs of the pupils, local environment issues, and contemporary social and cultural problems; the ability to use information and communication technology (ICT) tools; the ability to apply the knowledge of psychology, pedagogy and didactics and general issues of education, social assistance or proceedings in juvenile cases, to resolve problems related to the scope of tasks performed by the teacher; and the ability to use the provisions on the education system, social assistance or proceedings in juvenile cases in the functioning of the school where the teacher had an internship. Requirements for to obtaining the position of certified teacher: to obtain positive results in teaching, education or care due to the implementation of measures aimed at improving their own professional skills and the quality of the school s functioning; practical use of ICT; the ability to share knowledge and experience with other teachers, including the conduct of open classes, particularly with teachers and trainee teachers, contractors, conducting classes with teachers in intraschool training or other activities; the implementation of at least three of the following tasks: a) development and implementation of a teaching, educational activity or other programme related respectively to education, social assistance or proceedings in juvenile cases; b) performing the tasks of a methodological adviser, examination commission member, an expert of the selection or examination committee for teachers applying for qualifications of professional advancement, expert for teaching curricula, education curricula, textbooks and teaching aids and, for the case 146

148 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project of teachers at art schools, also a consultant working with the Centre for Arts Education; c) expand the scope of school activities, in particular the tasks of teaching, educational or care; d) the acquisition of skills in foreign languages at an advanced level and, in the case of foreign language teachers, to obtain skills in a second foreign language at an advanced level; e) to perform tasks for education, social assistance or proceedings in juvenile cases in collaboration with others, local governments or other actors; and f) the acquisition of other significant achievements in their work; and the ability to identify and solve teaching, educational and other problems with special attention to the specificity of the type and kind of school where the teacher is employed. 147

149 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Higher education management perspectives on graduates professional careers synthesis of the DEHEMS interviews Understanding career success The analysis of the answers collected among DEHEMS countries allows us to say that representatives mostly share the understanding of career success as a smooth transition into the labour market (finding a job), equipped with the competencies needed for quality teaching and job satisfaction. Finding a matching job is the most important career success characteristic The most common answer was that career success for graduates already comes when they find a (first) job because, according to the interviewees in most of these countries (except Austria), there are too many teachers and it is very hard for them to find employment. In Germany, one interviewee said: professional success means that graduates find a first job in a school and survive the provisional training period for teachers (Referendariat). In some countries, the interviewees are more specific and define success as finding a well-paid job. E.g. The career success of a graduate from the education faculty is to be employed in their own field and, of course, to earn enough money (TR) or a Polish example: getting a well-paid job, after not too long a period of job searching. Based on these answers, to be successful in their career graduates need to find a job, however we can develop this further because some informants added that besides finding a job graduates should also be good at and satisfied with it. Developed competencies in quality teaching and lifelong learning That career success involves being a good teacher, or providing quality teaching in one s job was mentioned quite often by the interviewees. It was mentioned in Turkey: If they will be a good teacher in the long term this will be their career success. Also in Slovenia, it is important that a teacher performs quality work as well as in Germany, A graduate must be a good teacher and Austria, The ideal graduate should provide the best possible teaching quality. Other representatives made a connection between career success and the acquisition of general or key competencies which equip them to be good teachers. This was mentioned by one interviewee in Turkey: A professional career is mostly related with the personality or key competencies of graduates ; also in Slovenia, A graduate is successful when one is able to work with children this also includes teamwork, work with parents they have broad knowledge and are prepared for lifelong learning ; and Germany, basic pedagogical content knowledge, basic knowledge of pedagogy and psychology, the capability to prepare and plan lessons and to implement strategies and measures that help identify the learning progress of pupils and, last but not least, the motivation to undertake further education. As seen in the above citations, the interviewees claim that career success is also influenced by how much students are prepared and motivated for lifelong learning. Italian and Polish interviewees also mentioned this: Labour market success is the ability to adapt to changing opportunities and challenges, lifelong learning (PL). We can conclude that, in order to be successful in their careers, graduates need to find a job which they will be satisfied with and do well at, but to be good teachers they also need to have welldeveloped key competencies and be prepared for lifelong learning, i.e. on-going education. 148

150 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Job satisfaction But not only finding is a job is already seen as success since some interviewees also connected career success with job satisfaction, which was explained as influencing their performance. Job satisfaction was mentioned by German and Polish interviewees: that graduates are successful and happy in their job (DE) Academics knowledge about their graduates careers Most interviewees said that they do not have a formal and structured way of tracking graduates professional pathways, although they do stay in touch with them through mentorships, alumni events, meetings and similar. They therefore do get some feedback about how their graduates are progressing in their careers but nothing by way of proper statistics. Italian HEIs participate in the national AlmaLaurea programme that has been developed to keep track of graduates and their careers. Some interviewees (Poland, Italy, Turkey, Austria) also mentioned that there are career centres at their institutions which provide different services for their graduates: The HEI is very active in the area of assisting its graduates with job searching, job counselling and building skills and qualifications during the transition from education to the labour market, with the Academic Career Centre being a central institution realising policy in this area (PL). Our Career Centre offers seminars right after graduation to help students with their transition to a job (AT). It is common in all countries that the largest share of graduates works as a teacher in both private and public institutions. Many graduates continue their education in postgraduate programmes because they believe this will help them find employment. The interviewees reported that a lot of graduates do not work in the field of their studies and that, beside teacher positions, they take up roles in: public administration, supervision, research, guidance, psychological services, curriculum development, testing and measurement of adult education, special education etc. Unlike others, Austrian graduates of teaching studies do not have problems finding a job as a teacher: Students who graduate to be teachers nowadays often have a job even before they graduate because of the shortage of teachers in Austria. Moreover, the transition to work is institutionalised and there is a defined contact (educational authority of the respective province). Even though most institutions do not have in place the formal and structured tracking of graduates professional pathways, we can conclude based on their assumptions and experience from informal interactions with graduates that still most graduates work as teachers in either the private or public sector The role of HEIs in the future professional activities of graduates Practical training is a major factor in preparing graduates for work Based on the interviewees' answers, we may conclude that in all DEHEMS countries programmes in the area of education include practical training, which has been recognised as very valuable and important for students to develop professional and soft skills. The practical training may occur in different forms throughout the countries, faculties and programmes. In Slovenia, practical training is part of curricula throughout the whole study duration (all five years), with students training at the same school/institution for all that time. Turkish practical training involves a placement in schools, laboratory hours and research studies. Teaching entails a combination of lectures, classes and practical work in modern laboratories with state-of-the-art workstations where a wide range of learning resources in print, recorded or electron- 149

151 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates ic form are used. Moreover, students are required to do practice teaching in schools as part of their training (TR). In Austria practical courses are implemented in curricula as a mandatory internship. German curricula includes something similar to the Slovenian practical phases, which are completed after every phase of the study programme. Different phases characterise different parts, where the first one is a sort of orientation for students and the second covers technical didactics. Before students can start with practical school training phases, they need to do two placements in a company and in a pedagogical institution. Also in Polish curricula practical training has been gaining in importance. This is evident by the growth of the practical orientation of education. Some faculties have implemented new active approaches in teaching with tutoring, mentoring and coaching. Teaching methods include tutoring, mentoring and coaching, which enable students to have more personal contacts with professors. It is based on a direct meeting with the student tutor and results in a cooperative process aimed at the integral including knowledge, skills and attitudes development of the tutee (PL). Italian programmes are no different as practical training is also included in curricula in terms of practical laboratories, internships and practices, involving workshops and seminars, however the interviewees highlighted that the extent of these activities is strongly connected to the budgetary limits. Therefore, in some faculties frontal lecturing is still the approach most often used. The analysis shows that the visited institutions are following European trends in education, where practical training and the transition from content-centred to learner-centred curricula are seen as very important in order to develop future graduates competencies that will help them in their transition to the labour market. Empowering lifelong learning and soft skills It also evident from the interviews that developing competencies for lifelong learning along with professional competencies is rising in importance. Such observations were mentioned in Slovenia, Turkey and Poland, where they are not only encouraging lifelong learning but also preparing students for it through the curricula. The programme aims at students achieving competencies for lifelong learning, thus courses in the humanities and arts fields are also embedded within the programme (TR). Another important recent change in teacher education programmes mentioned by the informants is the development of students soft skills, which are seen as crucial for their careers and further education and development. This is mostly incorporated in practical training with the development of technical skills. In Germany, a day and a half long tutorial in psycho-social competencies is implemented where students are trained in how to work with people in different situations. As the whole education system in Europe is characterised by lifelong learning, it is also notable that the institutions in DEHEMS countries are shifting their programmes in that direction. Supporting internationality The internationalisation of teachers education programmes is expanding in all DEHEMS countries, mostly through faculties participation in Erasmus programmes and faculties efforts to simplify credit transfers for exchange students. Very active in such programmes are Turkey, Italia and Slovenia for both outgoing and incoming sides, although the interviewees recognise there is still room to improve and extend internationalisation. Some Turkish faculties also have bilateral agreements with German faculties which run exchange programmes for students. 150

152 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project In countries such as Germany, Austria and Poland students are not that keen on participation in exchange programmes unless they will be teaching foreign languages. At this HEI, there is an aim that students who study languages should go abroad for a semester. For all other students of teaching studies, this field is underdeveloped (DE). Some Polish faculties are also weak on the incoming side because they do not offer many courses in English. A German informant believes that students from that country do not go abroad because their programmes include an international component in the form of actual international studies in school pedagogies. Therefore, students do not have a need to go abroad. However, the main tendency of the institution is to follow the internationalisation processes of education and programmes. Other issues: cooperation with stakeholders, career centres, research activities, and quality assurance The majority of the interviewees said they have good relationships with other stakeholders, although most of such co-operation is not formal. The educational institutions usually cooperate with other universities and faculties, employers (companies and schools) and chambers. Universities in Turkey have strong relations with business but also provide student clubs, career guidance meetings with companies and focus group discussions. They also have strong collaboration with the ministry, the Higher Education Council and other education faculties/universities. In Germany information days for higher education and occupations (HOBIT) are organised every year where all higher education institutions, companies and other organisation take part. One Austrian university officially collaborates with the Viennese Chamber of Economy in order to arrange internships at good companies for students. In Italy some universities have formal co-operation in place with stakeholders with a signed agreement with employers for student work practices: At present, the university has signed 17,000 partnership agreements with different employers for student work practice. These agreements are signed with private or social employers as well as with the public administration (IT). Some Italian universities leave this matter to faculties, while others are part of the institutionalised stakeholder networks. The interviews point to the bigger role of career centres at higher education institutions in Austria and Poland. Especially the Polish case is interesting where the career centre not only has the responsibility to provide career guidance and links between employers and students (through job fairs), but also arrange internships and prepare and deliver skill training sessions for students. Most of interviewed institutions include students in research later in their studies, at the second and third levels (master s and PhD), whereas undergraduate students do not usually participate in research projects. Institutions from most DEHEMS countries conduct surveys among students about their satisfaction with the programmes and/or teachers as part of quality assurance. However, in some cases the results are more relevantly used than in others. In Austria, students are even involved in curricula development through the study commission. Yet this is only a formal involvement that carries no major influence Developmental needs Due to the differences in higher education systems, organisation, development and activities of teacher education programmes among the DEHEMS countries, the further development needs also vary. Some of them see needs in terms of curricula development, some in the extent of practical training in curricula and others in the transition of graduates from education to work. However, they also share some common needs such as developing better relations with stakeholders (employers, other universities and faculties, 151

153 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates students), strengthening the internationalisation of the teacher education programmes, developing educational activities in line with lifelong learning, increasing student-centred learning and others. Strengthening relations with stakeholders Most interviewees stressed the constant need to develop better relationships with important stakeholders such as employers, other educational institutions and students themselves and alumni. Turkish institutions would like to extend the collaboration with employers and also with students and alumni. Polish respondents mentioned the lack of cooperation with local employers to gain quality apprenticeships and for the promotion of the faculties. Italian institutions would like to improve the existing collaboration with employers by including them actively in courses of curricula and to extend the network to large organisations and institutions in order to achieve the greater internationalisation of the programmes. On top of existing contacts, the university should try to develop further reaching networks that would not look only at small-medium enterprises (a natural reference point for technical and scientific faculties), but also institutions, organisations and agencies interested in nurturing citizens knowledgeable of their role, respectful of diversity, open to the cultural contaminations that globalisation imposes on us, hence requiring us to be able to communicate with people from around the world (IT). Also some Austrian interviewees mentioned the need to develop better relationships with employers, universities and society in general. Internationalisation of programmes In almost all DEHEMS countries the respondents mentioned the need to work on the internationalisation of their teacher education programmes. In Turkey they would like to avoid limitations on the internationalisation of learning such as credit transfers. Polish institutions need to deliver more courses in English and they believe this will help them achieve the greater internationalisation of their programmes. Internationalisation could be improved but this would require starting an English programme, which involves additional resources and some time (PL). Internationalisation is a field in this domain of teachers education that is quite underdeveloped (DE). Moreover, German and Austrian institutions believe there is a lot of space to improve in the area of the internationalisation of their programmes. They see one reason for the underdevelopment of the area in the cultural sovereignty of federal states since students basically stay in the same state where they studied. Further development of practical work and problem-based learning Especially in Poland a stronger need for more practice-oriented curricula was noted, as one informant mentioned: The labour market experience of graduates of this HEI seems to suggest that practical skills are highly evaluated by the employers. With the implementation of new approaches in didactics such as coaching, mentoring, tutoring, more workshops and a higher level of interdisciplinary skills, students will develop more practical and general skills which will make them more attractive to employers. In Germany they also see a high level of relevance in the development of future teachers psycho-social competencies in order to develop high quality graduates. Besides the need for more practice-oriented curricula in Poland, the need for relevant and quality apprenticeships for students was also highlighted. This would not only guarantee the development of good practical skills but also help in the process of graduates transition to the labour market. Similarly, in Italy they believe that relevant student trainings and internships should and will be developed ( Training camps with 152

154 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project strong involvement of practitioners and companies will start next summer and shall be developed ) in order to help improve graduates transitions to work. Autonomy within curricula for regular updating according to current student needs Quite often educational institutions believe they do not have enough freedom when it comes to developing curricula and such cases were also mentioned in the DEHEMS countries: Turkey, Poland and Italy. In Italy there is a need to update curricula according to actual student needs in terms of competencies and labour market demands. They also believe students should have a greater voice in the development process. A similar situation is found in Poland, where informants see a need for more space for the individualisation of studies and where students would also be able to compose their own study programme. More individualisation of studies is required. Students should have more freedom in composing their own study programmes. Currently the autonomy of the faculty is limited, but under the new Education Act more autonomy will be available and therefore changes will be made in this area (PL). Lifelong learning has been stressed, especially in Turkey Particularly in Turkey there is a high level of awareness (mentioned by four out of six informants) of the need to bring education programmes in line with lifelong learning. This need was also mentioned by some Italian and Austrian informants who believe that in the future there should be a greater focus on lifelong learning in teacher education curricula. Career counselling Apart from the most stressed needs for development in the area of relationships with stakeholders, developing the internationalisation of programmes, changing didactics, achieving higher autonomy within curricula development and adopting the lifelong learning approach, informants in some countries also mentioned a need to develop career counselling, teachers competencies, to provide more practically-oriented curricula and for students to have relevant and quality apprenticeships. Career counselling is seen as an important area that should be improves by Italian and Slovenia informants. An Italian respondent mentioned: There is a need for a centralised placement service that would help graduates in the start-up phase of their careers. A similar opinion was voiced by a vice-dean from Slovenia: Career counselling is also one of the important things they have to implement as part of the study process. In both countries, career counselling is seen as something that needs further development and better implementation in the study process so as to result in a smoother transition of graduates to the labour market and to help in balancing course designs and job market needs. 153

155 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Conclusion Study programmes from this professional field are mainly offered at public higher education institutions as the state plays a major role in education (also the large majority of graduates are employed in the public sector). Each DEHEMS country has some national particularities concerning its education system. Therefore, the education and teaching study programmes also differ from country to country, regarding their length, teaching and learning modes, practical training, certification etc. However, there is a tendency in all the countries to ensure the broadness of theoretical as well as practical training which plays a special role in this professional domain and it is an obligatory part of the curricula in all countries. As can be seen from the national reports of the DEHEMS countries and the statistical overview, this profession is still highly feminised with a high proportion of women in primary education teaching studies, which is getting lower in secondary/vocational education teaching studies. The mobility of graduates from this professional field is the lowest compared to the mobility of graduates from other professional fields. Despite all of this, on average only one of two respondents from the DEHEMS countries reported that the study programme was a good basis for starting work, although on average three out of four of them are satisfied with their work. An important part of teaching includes lifelong learning that is usually provided by the state. When we look at the analysis of the interviews conducted with different representatives of institutions providing teacher education programmes in DEHEMS countries, we see that most share a similar understanding of the career success of their graduates. The career success of teachers is first a matter of finding a job and then being good at their job, i.e. to be a good and qualitative teacher with well developed general competencies. Job satisfaction was also mentioned as one of the indicators of teachers career success. In almost all institutions, no formal and structured tracking of graduates professional pathways is in place; therefore, most of their answers were based on their assumptions and experience from informal interactions with graduates. A lot of graduates continue their education due to the belief that this will help them find employment in the private or public sector. Even though most graduates work in their field as teachers, there is quite a large number of graduates who do not but instead take up roles in public administration, supervision, research, guidance, psychological services, curriculum development etc. According to the answers, all education programmes include practical training, which has been growing in importance recently, and hence call for further development. Most respondents are aware that practical training provides students with opportunities to develop their professional and soft skills, which are the most valued and sought by employers. Next to practical training, the changes in didactics (workshops, seminars, coaching, mentoring, tutoring etc.) also have a big influence on the development of future teachers competencies. However, in some countries they still see a need to further develop these areas, and to increase the extent of student-centred learning and practically-oriented curricula. Most of the institutions are well aware of the importance of the internationalisation of their programmes and are actively participating in different international projects, programmes and forms of co-operation (mostly the Erasmus programme). They are also trying to support exchange programmes by simplifying credit transfer processes and the recognition of courses students have taken abroad and by offering their courses in English in order to make their programme more internationally relevant. However, they still see a lot of space and need to improve in the area, especially in Poland and Germany. 154

156 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project In some countries the informants also believe that their institutions are responsible for preparing their students for lifelong learning, which will only help them in becoming good teachers who will constantly develop themselves. Again this area was also mentioned as one that needs more focus and improvement in order to align their programmes with lifelong learning activities. All institutions share the main strategic goal to develop good teachers and ensure they have a smooth transition from education to work. They are also very aware that in order to do so the crucial factors are good relationships and collaboration with stakeholders (employers, other universities, ministries, students and alumni) because that will provide them with possibilities for better apprenticeships/internships/practical training for students, possibilities to balance curricula content with labour market needs and students needs and to facilitate graduates smoother transition to the job market. 155

157 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Tamara Arutyunyants, Monika Braun, Constanze Engel, Kerstin Janson 5.3 ENGINEERING Introduction Innovations in the field of engineering play a vital role for economic development and growth in the European Union. As outlined in the European Engineering Report 2010 provided by the Association of German Engineers (VDI), their role is twofold: On the one hand, innovations are responsible for technical progress, which is a precondition of economic growth and prosperity. On the other hand, innovations improve a country s competitiveness in the global market, which also fosters growth (VDI 2010). Willi Fuchs, Managing Director of the Association of German Engineers (VDI), describes the contribution of engineers to achieve the aims of Europe s 2020 strategy 45 as follows: The Engineers contribution to technological innovation applied in the market place is indispensable for achieving higher economic growth as well as for creating new jobs, securing clean energy supply, sustaining natural resources and tackling the challenges associated with climate change. Thus, they will play an important role in putting into practice all three priorities set out in the Europe 2020 strategy. 46 This important contribution to economic growth and development expected from engineers is, however, dependent on a sound education via study programmes which are covering current needs and developments to be able work creatively on innovations. The European Commission clearly states that the appropriate education of engineers has to be ensured by the different countries: At national level, Member States will need [ ] to ensure a sufficient supply of science, maths and engineering graduates and to focus school curricula on creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship (Com 2010). The VDI interprets this formulation as follows: The Europe 2020 strategy aims at turning Europe into a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy. Whether these objectives can be achieved will not least depend on the ability of the European countries to ensure that there is a sufficient number of well-qualified engineers to tackle important challenges (VDI 2010). The demand of both the European Commission and the European Engineering report therefore covers two major aspects: first, there is a call for the education of a sufficient number of engineers. At the same time, innovation and creativity and a high level of qualification to be able to deal with new challenges is seen as crucial. The following chapter aims to provide an overview of the study conditions and provisions of engineers and their early career. For this, information on the socio-biographic background of students in the study fields of engineering in the DEHEMS countries will be described and analysed. Further, the study conditions and provisions in these countries will be compared. Another focus of the analysis is the transition to employment and the characteristics of the first job. At the end of this chapter the relationship between higher education and work will be studied 1. The professional domain Engineering contains the following fields of study: general engineering, mechanical engineering, mining, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, traffic/nautic engineering, manufacturing and processing and civil engineering. 45 The European Union (EU) has set five objectives on employment, innovation, education, social inclusion and climate/energy to be reached by 2020, the so-called Europe 2020 strategy which replaces the Lisbon Agenda. This strategy aims at turning Europe into a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy- See European Commission. COM(2010) COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION. EUROPE 2020 A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, Brussels, Fuchs, Willi: Preface of the European Engineering Report, in: Verein Deutscher Ingenieure e.v. in cooperation with Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln (Ed.): European Engineering Report, April 2010, p

158 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project In the second part (4.3.6) of this report, altogether 37 interviewees from 17 higher education institutions) in six DEHEMS countries participated in 36 interviews 1. The interviewees represent public and private higher education institutions that offer study programmes in different branches of engineering, such as electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, architectural engineering, chemical engineering and others. The range of participating higher education institutions differs from country to country: representatives of two higher education institutions were interviewed in Poland and in Slovenia, three higher education institutions took part in the interviewing in Turkey, in Austria and in Italy, and four higher education institutions in Germany. It is relevant to mention that in Austria and in Germany representatives of two different types of higher education institutions universities and universities of applied sciences (offering more practical-oriented courses of studies) were interviewed. Most of the interviewees have an academic background in a definite branch of engineering and most combine or have combined in their professional life academic work with different managerial roles in a higher education institution (27 interviewees) that include positions of rector, vice rectors, deans/vice deans of faculties, heads of departments and so on. The remaining interviewees (10 interviewees) have some other academic background and were selected for the interview due to their relevance for the DEHEMS research questions by virtue of their position and experience in higher education management Statistical overview of the domain Relevant information from the national reports and data from the HEGESCO and REFLEX projects serve in this chapter as a basis for the analysis of the socio-biographic background of students and graduates in the field of engineering in the six DEHEMS countries Number of graduates From 2005 to 2009 the numbers of graduates in the field of engineering were growing across all DEHEMS countries, except in Italy, where they were descending (see Table 5.26). Looking at the percentage share of this field s graduates compared to all graduates, we cannot see constant growth in any of the DEHEMS countries. The highest percentage of engineering graduates compared to the total number of graduates can be noted in Italy and Austria at around 14%, followed by Germany with approximately 12%. 157

159 Percent Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Table 5.26: Number of graduates in the engineering field Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey % of tertiary graduates Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey Source: DEHEMS elaboration based on OECD (2011) Subdomain structure In all six DEHEMS countries (see Figure 5.22), the majority of graduates from the engineering domain finished programmes in engineering and engineering trades, with the highest percentage in Austria, Germany and Italy (60% or above). The lowest popularity of this subdomain is noted in Turkey with only 48%. The least popular subdomain of engineering and construction in the DEHEMS countries is manufacturing and processing, with the biggest shares in Turkey (24%) and Poland (20%) and the lowest in Germany, Italy and Austria (around 5%). Approximately 30% of graduates across all the countries finished programmes in the architecture and building subdomain. Figure 5.22: Structure of the Engineering domain graduates broken down by subdomains 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Architecture and building (ISC 58) Manufactoring and processing (ISC 54) Engineering and engineering trades (ISC 52) Country Source: DEHEMS elaboration based on OECD (2011). Note: Latest available data for Austria for

160 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Gender distribution In all DEHEMS countries, the number of male students is much higher than the number of female students in the engineering domain. This is due to the fact that engineering is traditionally a technical- and practical-oriented domain in contrast e.g. to the domain of education and teaching studies. In the 2008/2009 academic year, in Austria, Poland and Turkey about 25% of the students were female, in Germany about 15%, in Italy about 21%, and in Slovenia about 27%. In the last few years, the number of female students has increased significantly at least in Italy (from 17.6% in 2004/2005) and in Turkey (from 21.5% in 2004/2005). The European Engineering Report that covers 27 European Union member states, the EU applicants Croatia and Iceland as well as Norway and Switzerland says: While there is a serious shortage of science and technology experts in many vital business areas, women are a largely unused potential in the engineering profession. 47 In the DEHEMS countries, the quota of female students is quite high in study programmes in the field of manufacturing and processing (54) such as textile engineering, and biotechnology, and in civil engineering (582) probably due to its close relationship to architecture. The data from these countries (e.g. Italy, Austria) which included study programmes of architecture in the domain of engineering demonstrate that the quota of female students is quite high in architecture. The increase in the number of female students over the last few years can be confirmed by the data from the HEGESCO and REFLEX projects that were collected in 2003 and 2008: In Italy, 19% of the students were female, in Austria 14%, and in Germany 15%. In Poland, Slovenia, and Turkey, the share of female students was 22%. 48 According to OECD data (see Figure 5.23), across all six DEHEMS countries there is the high dominance of male students in the engineering domain (only around 27% of female students). The highest percentage of female students can be noted in Poland and Italy (slightly above 30%) and the lowest in Austria and Germany (slightly above 20%). When looking at the subdomains, the lowest feminisation can be noted in engineering and engineering trades (around only 15%), while manufacturing and architecture and building are relatively close with shares between 40 and 50%, which makes these two subdomains a little more popular among female students than programmes of the engineering subdomain. This is the case especially in Slovenia, where the manufacturing and processing subdomain has quite a high percentage of feminisation with 61%. 47 See Verein Deutscher Ingenieure e.v. in cooperation with Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln (Ed.): European Engineering Report, April 2010, p. 10. On average, only every 6th engineer was female in the countries included in this report, see page See Engineering. Tables Reports by Country. Prepared by Harald Schomburg and Florian Löwenstein on data base: REFLEX and HEGESCO as of Table 93: Gender by Country Engineering (percent) on the basis of question K1: Gender of the RELFEX and HEGESCO project, p

161 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Figure 5.23: Degree of feminisation of the Engineering domain 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey Source: DEHEMS elaboration based on OECD (2011). Note: Latest available data for Austria for Further information on socio-biographic backgrounds (REFLEX and HEGESCO data) Data from the REFLEX project confirm some differences with regard to the age of the graduates at the time of graduation in 2000: Graduates from Turkey were the youngest at 24 years, followed by Poland at 25 years (arithmetic mean). In Italy and Austria, graduates were 27 years old, in Germany 28, and in Slovenia 29 years (arithmetic mean). 49 It has to be emphasised that all these data concern final degrees before implementation of the Bologna reform. The living situation during the last year of the study programme varies extremely in the six DEHEMS countries. Italy is the country where most students lived with their parents during the last study year 73% even compared to the other 18 countries that were analysed in the REFLEX and HEGESCO projects. In Poland, Slovenia and Turkey, about 40% lived with their parents. In Poland, 20% lived with a partner, 18% alone and 18% in another constellation. In Slovenia, 18% lived alone and 38% with a partner. In Turkey, only 4% lived with a partner and 30% alone. In Germany and Austria, the situation is quite similar: 30% lived alone in Austria and 35% in Germany. 39% of the students in Austria lived with a partner; the corresponding figure for Germany is 33%. In Germany, 25% lived with their parents while in Austria the figure was only 15% See Engineering. Tables Reports by Country. Prepared by Harald Schomburg and Florian Löwenstein on data base: REFLEX and HEGESCO as of Table 94: Year of Birth by Country Engineering (means) on the basis of question K2: Year of birth of the RELFEX and HEGESCO project, p See Engineering. Tables Reports by Country. Prepared by Harald Schomburg and Florian Löwenstein on data base: REFLEX and HEGESCO as of Table 106: Living Situation During the Last Year of Study Programme by Country Engineering (percent) on the basis of question K7: How did you live during the last year of your study programme? of the RELFEX and HEGESCO project, p

162 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Data from the REFLEX and HEGESCO projects show quite big differences with regard to children of graduates in the six DEHEMS countries. In Poland, the share was the highest: 45% had children (33% one child, 12% two children). In Slovenia and Germany, the situation was similar: In Slovenia, 24% had one child, 19% two children and 5% even three or more children. In Germany, 22% had one child, 10% two children and 1% three or more children. The figure for one child was similar in Italy (12%), Austria (14%) and Turkey (14%). In Italy (85%) and Turkey (83%) the shares of those having no children was extremely high. 51 Data from the REFLEX and HEGESCO projects show big differences between the countries with regard to the family background of engineering graduates. Answers to the question about the highest education of the father show that 60% of all students of engineering in Germany had a father with a highest education level of ISCED This was the highest figure even compared to the other 18 countries that were analysed in the REFLEX and HEGESCO projects. 44% of the fathers of students in Turkey also had an ISCED highest education level. In Poland (29%), Slovenia and Austria (24% in both countries) and in Italy (18%), the quotas were quite similar. Further, only 3% of the fathers of engineering students in Germany had an ISCED 1+2 highest education level, whereas 56% of the Austrian students indicated that their fathers highest education level was ISCED level 1+2. In Italy, 44% of the fathers highest education level was ISCED level On the basis of these data, the following conclusions can be drawn: In Germany, students of engineering often have an academic family background, especially with regard to the higher education of the father. 53 In Austria and Italy, the higher education of the father did not play any significant role. Despite this lower education, their children decided to study and strive for an academic career. It might be that this generation of fathers was still part of the more rural societies of Italy and Austria that is changing into a society based on services. Moreover, it can be assumed that financial reasons also play a role: In Germany, it is often the case that parents finance the studies of their children International students In Germany, the share of international students in the field of engineering is quite high: 16%. In some study programmes such as electrical engineering and mining engineering, the quota is even over 20%. This might be due to the often claimed attractiveness and high reputation of German engineering. Another factor might be the increasing number of English-taught courses in particular in the area of Master courses. In Austria, foreigners accounted for 12% of all graduates in the 2007/2008 academic year. There was quite a big difference between public universities (18.9% of all enrolled students) and universities of applied science (8.2%). At public universities as well as universities of applied sciences, the proportions of 51 See Engineering. Tables Reports by Country. Prepared by Harald Schomburg and Florian Löwenstein on data base: REFLEX and HEGESCO as of Table 108: Children by Country Engineering (percent) on the basis of question K9: Do you have children? of the RELFEX and HEGESCO project, p See Engineering. Tables Reports by Country. Prepared by Harald Schomburg and Florian Löwenstein on data base: REFLEX and HEGESCO as of Table 110: Highest education of Father by Country Engineering (percent) on the basis of question K11a: What is your parent s and, if applicable, partner s highest education? of the RELFEX and HEGESCO project, p A recent study in Germany came to the conclusion that the social factor is still decisive for the opportunity for advancement in a career. See: Pollak, Reinhard: Kaum Bewegung, viel Ungleichheit. Eine Studie zu sozialem Auf- und Abstieg in Deutschland, Schriften zu Wirtschaft und Soziales, Band 5 im Auftrag und herausgegeben von der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Berlin

163 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates foreign students and graduates were rising constantly when comparing the academic years from There were no specific data available on the number of foreign students in the field of engineering in Slovenia and in Turkey. In Poland, in the group technology, industry and construction which is closest to engineering as defined above, the share of foreigners is only 4.6%. 55 In Italy, specific data on the share of non-italian students only exists with regard to PhD students and graduates: The share of non-italian PhD students in civil engineering and architecture as well as in industrial engineering is 6%. In information engineering the respective share is 10% Study conditions and provisions Study programmes About 1800 study programmes in engineering are offered in Germany, Turkey, Austria and Italy without counting the study programmes in engineering in Poland and Slovenia. In the DEHEMS countries of Germany and Slovenia, the main study programmes of the engineering domain are: Mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and civil engineering. In Poland, instead of chemical engineering, there is managing and engineering production among the main study programmes; in Turkey, the programmes of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, and industrial engineering were classified under the main study programmes in this domain. In Italy, the dominating programmes in the field of engineering are 56 : Industrial engineering, information technologies engineering and civil and environmental engineering. 54 See Figure on the basis of questions H1a (Hegesco), H1a (Reflex) (How do you rate your own level of competence Mastery of your own field or discipline? Responses 6 and 7 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Very low'' to 7 = ''Very high' ) supports the high reputation of the study programmes in engineering in Austria and Germany. In this figure possession of competence ''Mastery of your own field or discipline'' by country in per cent Austria obtained the highest value with 77 %, and Germany the second highest value with 68 %. 55 See also Figure on the basis of questions H1a (Hegesco), H1a (Reflex): Possession of competence ''Mastery of your own field or discipline'', by country (in per cent). Poland obtained the lowest value with 24 %. This supports the idea that study programmes in the field of engineering are not very attractive for foreign students in Poland because the students in Poland have not felt qualified as a Mastery of their own field or discipline after their studies. 56 On the basis of the number of graduates, last available cohort. The Austrian partner has chosen a different approach. Thus, there were no data available with regard to the main study programmes (number of students and graduates). 162

164 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Table 5.27: Main study programmes in five DEHEMS countries 57 Germany Slovenia Turkey Poland Italy Mechanical engineering X X X X 58 Chemical engineering X X Electrical engineering X X X 59 X Civil engineering X X X X X Computer engineering X Industry engineering Managing and engineering production Source: National reports. X X X Number of enrolled students The number of enrolled students in the field of engineering is slightly increasing in most DEHEMS countries. An exception is Italy where the number of students decreased between 2004/2005 and 2008/ , and Turkey, where the number of enrolled students increased substantially due to new institutions of higher education that offer study programmes in the field of engineering. In Germany, 285,158 students in total were enrolled in the 2008/2009 academic year in programmes in the field of engineering at universities and universities of applied sciences. The number of enrolled students was more or less stable in the period However, a sudden increase of about 7% percent followed in In the 2007/2008 academic year, tertiary education in the engineering domain was pursued by 39,580 students at institutions of higher education in Austria. The number of students rose by approximately 5% per year both from 2006/07 to 2007/08 and from 2007/08 to 2008/09. In Poland, 215,190 students were enrolled in study programmes in the field of engineering in public higher education institutions and 15,328 in non-public higher education institutions in November When comparing the number of enrolled students in engineering in 2007/2008 and 2008/2009, one can detect a very small increase: 6.9% of all students were enrolled in the engineering domain in 2008/2009 while in 2007/2008 the figure was 6.8%. The situation in Turkey is quite outstanding compared to the other DEHEMS countries. In the 2004/2005 academic year, 143,655 students were enrolled in study programmes in the field of engineering at universities while in the 2008/2009 academic year the number increased about 40% to This extremely high increase is due to new public and private universities that offer several engineering disciplines. In Italy, the number of enrolled students in the field of engineering decreased slightly in contrast to the other DEHEMS countries: In the 2004/2005 academic year, in total 210,587 students were enrolled in the field of engineering. In the 2008/2009 academic year, the number decreased to 196,690. Compared to the 57 Data for Austria not available. 58 Mechanical engineering and machine building. 59 Electrical and electronics engineering. 60 In Slovenia, there is no data on the number of enrolled students in the field of engineering available. 163

165 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates total number of students enrolled in the 1 st year in 2008/2009, the number is quite stable compared to 2007/2008. This discrepancy should mostly be attributed to students in the architecture and building subdomain and is not a significant factor in the other study programmes in the field of engineering Number of graduates and PhD In most DEHEMS countries (e.g. Germany, Slovenia, Turkey), the number of graduates in the field of engineering increased (2004 compared to 2008 the year of examination. In Turkey, the number of graduates increased extremely by 24% between the years In contrast, in Italy the number of BA (bachelor) graduates decreased. In Poland, 5.1% of all graduates in the 2007/2008 academic year finished their studies in engineering while one year before the number was 5.4% of all graduates. In Germany, the number of PhDs is at 6% quite low (possible reasons: attractive employment opportunities; engineering as a practical-oriented field). The figures in Slovenia (5.4%), Austria (7.6%) and Italy (7.25%) are similar. It can only be concluded with regard to Turkey that 32.40% of the graduated students in engineering are enrolled in PhD studies. This high number of PhD students can be explained with the tight labour market conditions in Turkey: Holding a PhD, graduates are more qualified in their fields and can find a job more easily. In Poland, the number of PhD students in the study field engineering is not available; however the proxy of Technical PhD students makes up 15.9% of all PhD students in Poland. One can assume that the figure for engineering would not differ very much Mobility Data from the REFLEX and HEGESCO projects give important information on the mobility of students of engineering programmes living in the six DEHEMS countries: 31% of German interviewees had spent some time abroad for study. The number of Austrian interviewees is similar at 27%. In Italy, only 13% answered that they had studied abroad, in Poland 11%, in Slovenia 8% and in Turkey 6% (cf. Löwenstein/Schomburg, 2010: 59). With regard to the international mobility of graduates of engineering, the following conclusions can be drawn: 38% of Austrian graduates had spent some time abroad after graduation for study or work. The shares of Italian graduates (29%), Polish graduates (28%) and Turkish graduates were quite similar (32%). The share of German graduates (18%) and Slovenian graduates (21%) was lower (cf. Löwenstein/Schomburg, 2010: 62). These data show that it is obviously more common in Turkey, Italy and Poland to go abroad after graduation than during studies. One reason for the comparatively low number of German graduates might be that the average incomes in Germany were the highest in Europe at the end of the 1990s (together with Norway). Thus, the incentive to work abroad for financial reasons was not as high as for graduates of other EU member states (cf. Jahr et al.: 2002). Since the data from HEGESCO and REFLEX are not up to date, it is worthwhile looking at other sources: With regard to Austria, interesting information on the mobility of engineering students is delivered by the study: Arbeitssituation von Universitäts- und FachhochschulabsolventInnen (ARUFA) (Working Situation of Graduates from Universities and Universities of Applied Sciences). 6% of graduates with the de- 164

166 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project gree Diplom-Ingenieur (engineer) studied outside Austria, 6% completed an internship outside of Austria and 13% had regular employment out of Austria (cf. Guggenberger et al., 2010). Recent figures gathered in the German cooperation project graduate surveys (Kooperationsprojekt Absolventenstudien KOAB) for the 2008 academic year suggest that an increasing number of German students of engineering is interested in spending a temporary study period abroad, as 36% of the surveyed graduates of engineering stated that they had spent some time abroad during the course of their studies (cf. Kooij/Löwenstein 2010: 32). Among those graduates, 48% reported they had spent a study period abroad, 17% had worked on a project related to their studies and 52% had done an internship (multiple responses possible) (cf. Kooij/Löwenstein 2010: 33) Number of study programmes offered There are nearly 900 study programmes in the field of engineering at German higher education institutions. Most of them have already been transformed into Bachelor and Master programmes. Only around 7% (66) of the programmes lead to the traditional degrees of "Diplom" or "Magister". In Turkey, there are 623 first-cycle engineering programmes in 57 engineering disciplines. 269 study programmes are available in the engineering domain in Austria. This number includes various interdisciplinary programmes, hence their allocation to one specific domain is open to discussion as ISCED classification numbers are not available for each particular curriculum. Consequently, these figures can only be taken as rough estimates and have to be interpreted very cautiously. In Italy, nowadays seven ISCED 5A three-year long first degree programmes (denominated Laure L) and twenty-one ISCED 5A two-year long second degree programmes (Laurea Magistrale or Specialistica LM) have been classified in the engineering domain. 61 Among L programmes, four are included in the engineering study area, whilst the remaining three are administered within the architecture study area. Among the LM programmes, there are eighteen engineering study programmes and three architecture study programmes. Further, one ISCED 5A five-year long programme had been established: it allows students to reach a second level equivalent degree (denominated Laurea Magistrale a ciclo unico LMCU). There are no data available on the number of engineering study programmes in Slovenia and in Poland Learning and teaching modes Engineering is a practical- and technical-oriented domain. As described, the first study stage in most of the programmes often focuses on theoretical basic study fields. The second study stage often shifts to the different practical areas. Then, analytical ability, creativity and teamwork are becoming more and more important. According to the HEGESCO and REFLEX data, the dominating mode of teaching in the engineering domain is via lectures 69% (Poland) and 84% (Germany). Major differences between the DEHEMS countries can be observed with regard to group assignments, project and problem-based learning and written assignments (see Figure 5.24): Team work and group as- 61 The lower number of L programmes is due to willing to give students a more general knowledge, allowing them to master on more specific topics during the LM programmes. 165

167 LT BE EE HU SI CZ DE IT FR FI NO PT AT TR NL SP PL UK TOTAL Per cent of answers EE SP LT IT SI TR AT HU DE CZ BE FI UK NO PT PL FR NL TOTAL Per cent of answers Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates signments were emphasised the most in Poland (53%). On the contrary, in Italy only 26% of graduates and in Slovenia only 27% of graduates reported that there was a great emphasis on team work in their study programme. Figure 5.24: Emphasis on group assignments, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question A6b (Hegesco), A7b (Reflex): To what extent were group assignments emphasised in the study programme as a mode of teaching and learning? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent''. 54% of Polish graduates pointed out that project and/or problem-based learning was to a high or very high extent emphasised in their study programmes. Again, only 24% of the Slovenian respondents said this. The differences between Germany (32%), Italy (35%), Austria (37%), and Turkey (39%) were not so great. Figure 5.25: Emphasis on project and problem-based learning, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question A6h (Hegesco), A7h (Reflex): To what extent was project and problem-based learning emphasised in the study programme as a mode of teaching and learning? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent''. 166

168 TR IT HU BE SP PL PT UK NL CZ LT NO SI EE DE FI AT FR TOT Per cent of answers Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Since engineering is a technical- and practical-oriented domain, it is interesting to analyse the studyrelated work experiences during study and the participation in one or more work placements/internships as part of the study programme. The interpretation of the REFLEX and HEGESCO data shows big differences between the six DEHEMS countries with regard to the question of study-related work experiences during study: 77% of the interviewees in Austria indicated that they had had study-related work experiences. In Germany, the figure was 65% and in Slovenia 60%. In Poland, the number was 27%. Italy and Turkey had the lowest shares with 19 and 14%, respectively. Figure 5.26: Study-related work experiences during study, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question B3 (Hegesco), B3 (Reflex): Did you acquire any study-related work experiences? Responses ''yes'' on a scale of answers ''yes'' and ''no''. 100% of the Turkish graduates stated that they had taken part in one or more work placements/internships as part of their study programme. Due to the high unemployment rate especially among university graduates, students are voluntarily choosing to take part in placements/internships to increase their competitive power, although it is not compulsory. The shares in Germany (91%) and Poland (85%) were extremely high, too. Here, these work placements/internships were compulsory parts of the study programme in most cases. 62 In contrast, only every second respondent in Austria stated that they had done one or more work placements/internships as part of the study programme. In the case of Austria, the analysis of study-related work experiences during study leads to the conclusion that students prefer working during study than doing an internship (see the above-mentioned high figure of 77%). The participation in one or more work placements/internships as part of the study programme in Slovenia was quite similar to that in Austria (58%). At the end of the scale, there was again Italy with only 18% of graduates who stated that they had taken part in one or more work placements/internships as part of the study programme. Apparently, practical experience be it work or an internship does not play a major role in study programmes in the domain of engineering in Italy. Only a few programmes offer practical training which is in any case not required. 62 Bernd Müller underlines in his article: Engineers made in Germany : A broad foundation in mathematical and theoretical knowledge combined with expertise in realization is the German formula for training successful engineers. Müller, Bernd: Engineers in Germany. Technik aus Deutschland ist ein Markenzeichen und weltweit im Einsatz., in: DAAD Letter 3/10, S

169 IT CZ NO UK PT SP AT LT BE SI HU EE PL NL DE FI FR TR TOTAL Per cent of answers Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Figure 5.27: Participation in one or more work placements/internships as part of the study programme, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question A7 (Hegesco), A8 (Reflex): Did you take part in one or more work placements/internships as part of your study programme? ''Yes'' responses. Since the REFLEX and HEGESCO data refer to those graduating in the years 1999/2000 and 2002/2003, it is worthwhile looking at the practical training phases during study in the six DEHEMS countries nowadays. In Germany, many Bachelor programmes at universities of applied sciences take seven semesters as one semester of practical training in a company is included. But programmes at universities normally have a longer internship as a study requirement as well. Many universities also organise these normally six month long placements at companies they maintain contact with. Most HEIs also demand a so-called pre-internship in the area of metal processing, metal working in which future students of engineering study programmes learn basic manual skills like welding and milling. To enrol in civil engineering, most HEIs demand a so-called pre-internship at a construction site. In Austria, work placements at the Vienna University of Technology are not compulsory in the curriculum. Nevertheless, roughly four out of five students acquire relevant practical experience during their studies. Work placements are also officially recommended (TU Wien, 2010a). In Slovenia, the university study programme of mechanical engineering does not include compulsory practical training but a student can opt for professional training amounting to 5 ECTS credits. This corresponds to a three-week guided practical in an industrial or research environment, resulting in project work. However, practical training is obligatory on the higher professional level. Practical training is an obligatory part of the study programmes of civil engineering on academic and higher professional levels. It is usually performed in the last year of study. In electrical engineering, practical training is part of the curricula and begins in the third year of the study programme. In Poland, it is required that students undergo practical training in programmes for the first-cycle studies in the domain of engineering. The rules and form of training are left for the HEI to determine. The length of the practical training differs in the different subjects of engineering: 168

170 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project In Italy, as pointed out, practical training is not an integral part of the study programmes of engineering. Engineering in Italy is mainly a theoretical subject. In the DEHEMS countries Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Poland, a major impact of the Bologna reform was observed. In the last few years, bachelor and master programmes were gaining more and more importance and replaced the former degrees such as the Diplom in Germany. Especially in Poland and Slovenia, the restructuring of study programmes was combined with a review of the curricula. Impact of the Bologna reform In Germany, the classical degree of study programmes in the field of engineering was a "Diplom- Ingenieur". In the wake of the Bologna reform, the new degrees are "Bachelor of Engineering" and "Master of Engineering" or "Bachelor of Science" or "Master of Science". A study about the acceptance of the Bachelor and Master degrees in the area of engineering (based on an employer survey) published in 2009 states that 93% of all study programmes in the area of engineering have already been transformed into Bachelor and Master programmes (cf. Konegen-Grenier/Koppel, 2009: 1) The regular duration of most of the classical programmes for the diploma in engineering was 9 to 10 semesters (4.5 to 5 years). In the process of the Bologna reform, the study structure has changed to a 3- year (Bachelor) plus 2-year (Master) structure. At universities of applied sciences, the Bachelor sometimes takes seven semesters as one practical semester is included. Austria: Compared to some other domains e.g. medicine, education the share of education in engineering provided by universities of applied sciences is relatively high. Bachelor and master programmes are more common at universities of applied sciences (95.7%) than they are at Austrian HEI in general (82.5%) (BMWF, 2009; also see Country Report Austria). Consequently, this indicates that engineering is a domain where the Bologna reform has been adopted to a wider extent than in Austrian tertiary education in general. Italy: With regard to the impact the Bologna Process has had on the professional engineering domain, it should be noted that the higher education system had been renewed in depth after Engineering field study programmes had, before the legislative renewal, a five-year duration and were organised by sector. After the first two years of generalist and core courses, students approached the study of specific topics. Nowadays, first-level programmes have a three-year duration and students are endowed with both core and basic specific knowledge, then during the second-level programmes they mainly focus on specific topics. Despite the programmes reorganisation, it should be underlined that the contents have not been modified. Slovenia: In civil engineering, all academic study programmes now last 3 years whereas, before Bologna, it was 4 years. Students need to pass examinations more regularly, there is more seminar work and all subjects last only one semester (previously most lasted two semesters). In the framework of the Bologna reform, the contents of the study programmes were totally renewed after many years. Before the Bologna reform, the duration of the university study programme in mechanical engineering was 4.5 years, now it is 3 years. The higher professional programme lasted 3.5 years, of which 6 months were intended for practical training. The big change in electrical engineering is the division of the study programme into two levels (3+2). The consequences with regard to the quality of the study programme cannot be predicted yet as the 2009/2010 academic year was the first year of the new Bologna study programmes. 169

171 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Poland: The implementation of the Bologna system is quite successful in Poland and has achieved a relatively high level. First- and second-cycle studies were implemented in all disciplines excluding medicine, law, psychology, and architecture. The implementation of the national qualifications framework is still in progress but is highly advanced. An external quality assurance system is implemented. In 2001, the State Accreditation Committee a legal body working for the quality of education was established. The State Accreditation Committee is the only statutory body entrusted with the responsibility for evaluating the quality of higher education, and its opinions and resolutions have a legally binding effect. Turkey: The programmes in the engineering domain were already arranged in three cycles before the Bologna reform started. A first-cycle (bachelor), second-cycle (master) and third-cycle (doctoral level) structure was established. This system is still in place. First-cycle engineering programmes have a duration of four years, second-cycle programmes have a duration of 1.5 years (master programmes without a thesis) or two years (master programmes with a thesis), while third-cycle programmes are offered with a duration of four years Transition to employment and first job Certification Germany: Graduation from an engineering study programme allows one to use the title "Engineer" in Germany. There are no additional elements, e.g. exams or working periods required to become a full member of the profession. The transition process from higher education to employment for graduates of engineering study programmes is individualised in Germany. After graduation, graduates apply directly for a job or continue studying for a PhD. Austria: As an example, the profession of a civil engineer will be mentioned here: In Austria, graduates of a relevant engineering programme need to complete three years of work experience as well as a subsequent examination conducted by the Austrian Federal Chamber of Architects and Engineering Consultants to become a certified civil engineer. Depending on the desired special field (e.g. land surveying), additional special work experience has to be acquired (Bundeskammer der Architekten und Ingenieurkonsulenten, 2010). There is no standardised transition process from engineering studies to the labour market. Despite this, the compulsory or voluntary phases of practical training and work experience provide opportunities for students and graduates to establish connections with the labour market. By carefully selecting institutions and fields of specialisations, students can not only find out about their preferences and pursue them accordingly. They also willingly or unwillingly design their curriculum vitae in a way that is likely to influence their job prospects or already establish themselves in certain fields of employment (cf. Löwenstein/Schomburg, 2010: 19). Since universities of applied sciences provide a relatively high share of education in this field and because this type of institution generally maintains closer ties to industry, the transition is likely to be smoother than in some other domains. Career centres (e.g. at the Vienna University of Technology) are also becoming more and more widespread across Austria which should improve the entry into the world of work for graduates of public universities as well. In Turkey, the title of engineer can be used by individuals immediately after their graduation from a first-cycle engineering programme. Graduates can work in both the public and private sector according to 170

172 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project their professional skills. Further, there are 19 professional engineering societies in Turkey and membership in them is compulsory to practice the engineering profession, except for those engineers employed by the government. In Slovenia, the situation with regard to civil engineering is comparable to the situation in Austria: Students of study programmes from the Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering occupy different job positions after completing their study programme in civil engineering. If they want to perform job tasks as responsible engineers or responsible project managers, certification from the Chamber of Engineers as well as relevant work experience are needed. A professional examination can be taken three or five years after graduation. In addition to passing a professional exam, candidates must also meet the requirements laid down by legislation, e.g. to pass respective basic exams in: project design; management of work (certain types of construction work) as well as management of individual works; and supplementary exams in responsible auditing of certain types of plans. The objective of holding these basic and supplementary professional examinations is to establish whether a candidate is qualified to independently perform those engineering services for which they have taken the exam. Electrical engineering: Those who work as project managers need to pass additional exams of the Chamber of Engineers, for others, there are no additional requirements. In Italy, the transition to the labour market in the engineering domain has no unique path. National legislation has set up rules about licenses to practice the profession but graduates have several employment opportunities not requiring licenses. Those wishing to enrol with the National Engineers Council and become licensed practitioners must take an exam. Both L and LM graduates can get a licence and practice but L graduates are allowed to enrol in the junior positions of the council, whilst LM graduates reach fully recognised practitioner positions. Further job opportunities are in the field of secondary-level education: National legislation has established rules to enter the educational sector and teach. Poland: According to the Polish regulations, there is quite a considerable number of professions in which it is necessary to hold an appropriate certificate confirming qualifications and the right to perform the given profession. Recently, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education was appointed as a coordination institution responsible for gathering the necessary information and useful contacts in order to facilitate the transnational recognition of qualifications. Poland has opted for a relatively detailed approach to the question of professional certification. Apart from several professions related to medicine and architecture that are covered by the EU-level coordination of qualification requirements, there are more than 300 regulated professions, with almost 100 related to the engineering domain of education. Detailed requirements may be found at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education website. 171

173 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Data on transition to the labour market and characteristics of the first job Data from the REFLEX and HEGESCO projects reveal some differences with regard to the duration of job search in the six DEHEMS countries. In Slovenia, for 59% of graduates in engineering the search for a job lasted less than 1 month after graduation, 19% were searching for 1-3 months and 11% for up to half a year (4-6 months). In Austria and Germany, the situation was similar: 27% (Austria) and 28% (Germany) of graduates were employed immediately after graduation, for 43% (Austria) and 44% (Germany) of graduates the job search lasted 1 to 3 months, and 12% (Austria) and 15% (Germany) were searching for a job for up to half a year (4-6 months). The situation in Italy was similar to that of Austrian and German graduates in engineering: 19% were immediately employed, 41% and 17% were searching for 1-3 and for 4-6 months, respectively (cf. Löwenstein/Schomburg, 2010: 17). Thus, the situation of engineering graduates in these countries was relatively good. The answers of the interviewed graduates in Turkey underline the fact that the labour market situation for engineers was not easy in 2000: Only 19% found a job immediately, 14% searched for 1-3 months, 8% found one after 3-6 months. But 15% searched for 7-12 months, 26% for months and 18% searched and even longer than two years (ibid.). To find employment in engineering graduates most often contact employers on their own initiative; try to find it through family, friends and acquaintances; and through an advertisement in a newspaper; or they would be approached by an employer. In Poland, graduates most often contact an employer on their own initiative (almost twice as much as the average among the countries) but this happens far less often in Turkey. In Turkey, graduates most often find a job through their family or friends (far more often than in other countries). Compared to other DEHEMS countries, this method is not so popular in Austria, Germany and Slovenia. While across countries 12% of graduates were approached by employers, in Poland this happened only a few times, for 3% of graduates. On the other side, in Austria 20% of graduates were approached by employers so engineering graduates there in relatively strong demand compared to other countries. If we compare the ways of finding employment in the field of engineering with other domains, we can note that public employment agencies (except in Germany) are far less frequently used in this field than across all domains. On the other side, graduates more often find a job through the Internet (except Slovenia); and through the help of the HEI (except for Turkey and Germany). The responses to the question: To what extent has your study programme been a good basis for starting work?'' allows the following conclusions: 86% of the interviewed graduates in Austria agreed that their study programme had been a good basis for starting work. In Germany, the share of 74% was very high, too. In Poland (65%) and Italy (61%), the figures were similar and close to the average (64%). Turkey (41%) and Slovenia (34%) had the lowest shares. This figure for Turkey can be explained again in part by the difficult situation facing graduates of engineering programmes in the labour market. These study programmes are not practically oriented and the curricula are not shaped in a way that meets the needs of the world of work. 172

174 SI TR HU LT UK EE IT CZ PL NL FI FR BE DE PT SP NO AT TOTAL Per cent of answers Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Figure 5.28: Study programme as a good basis for starting work, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question I1a (Hegesco), I1a (Reflex): To what extent has your study programme been a good basis for starting work. Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent'' Lifelong learning Regulation of lifelong learning The way the lifelong learning process is regulated or required for graduates in the professional domain of engineering varies from country to country. 63 In Germany there is no regulated lifelong learning process. Further education is expected and recommended but not demanded for engineers. In Austria many professions bind their members to the lifelong learning process. This also applies to the domain of engineering, where responsibility for the details of continuing education is assigned to the respective chambers. In general, regulations of professional associations stipulate that each member is obliged to complete a minimum amount of additional training each year and those members must continuously inform themselves about scientific progress and the state of the art in their respective fields. In Turkey the education sector and the T.R. National Education Ministry work intensively on the topic of lifelong learning. The other official actors of lifelong learning are the Council of Higher Education, the Turkey Statistics Agency, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Social Services and Child Protection Agency, the Turkey Business Organisation, and the Institution of Vocational Qualifications. The Turkey Lifelong Learning Strategy Document from 2009 introduces rules of lifelong learning on a legal basis. The universities themselves also take lifelong learning into consideration and are trying to review their curricula. Moreover, public and private universities and job associations present certification programmes for continuing education. In Poland there are no special rules with regard to lifelong learning. The path of professional promotion is defined at the company level with each firm applying its own rules and requirements. What is typical for engineering occupations is the fact that in many cases promotion is based on experience. Therefore, de- 63 See National Reports of the DEHEMS countries, chapter 6 and

175 LT TR HU SI UK DE CZ AT NL FR NO IT EE PT PL SP FI BE TOTAL Per cent of answers Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates tailed records of one s professional career, the time and type of executed tasks are necessary. In Italy the lifelong learning system is not strictly regulated by law. Practitioners are not required to attend further courses. Nevertheless, they show high levels of participation in further learning activities, attended with the aim of continuously extending and updating their knowledge. In Austria, many professions bind their members to the lifelong learning process. This also applies to the domain of engineering, where responsibility for the details of continuing education is assigned to the respective chambers. These chambers frame the kind and extent of continuing education their members have to undertake and prove the completion of. Further, the chambers have to approve education institutions and the courses they offer and the chambers offer a variety of courses themselves. In general, regulations by professional associations stipulate that each member is obliged to complete a minimum of additional training each year and that members must continuously inform themselves about scientific progress and the state of the art in their respective fields. For example, members of the civil engineering profession can also become official technical experts. To maintain their officially accredited status they have to show evidence of the completion of an officially organised and accredited continuing education course every two years (Steiermark: 28) Selected data from the HEGESCO and REFLEX projects Figure 5.30 shows the percentages of graduates who responded that their study programme in the domain of engineering was a good basis for further learning on the job. 72% of Polish graduates answered this question in the affirmative. The number in Italy was quite high, too (67%). The figures for Austria (60%) and Germany (55%) were again similar. Slovenia (49%) and Turkey (45%) were again at the end of the scale of all DEHEMS countries. One can assume that the figure in Slovenia would be higher after the review of curricula in the wake of the Bologna reform. Figure 5.29: Study programme as a good basis for further learning on the job, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question I1b (Hegesco), I1b (Reflex): To what extent has your study programme been a good basis for further learning on the job? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent''. Regarding job characteristics, namely the opportunity to learn new things, Austria was again at the top of the DEHEMS and all the other REFLEX and HEGESCO countries with 73%. The figures were similar in 174

176 TR FR PT DE IT NL HU SP PL SI NO UK EE LT BE FI CZ AT TOTAL Per cent of answers Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project the other DEHEMS countries (between 61% and 66%), except for Turkey: Here again, the lowest number was reached (51%). Figure 5.30: Opportunity to learn new things, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question J1Bc (Hegesco), J1Bc (Reflex): Please indicate how important the following job characteristics are to you personally (opportunity to learn new things) and to what extent they actually apply to your current work situation? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent'' (in section B apply to current work) Higher education management perspectives on graduates' professional careers synthesis of the DEHEMS interviews Introduction: graduates have good opportunities to obtain adequate jobs Analysis of the interviews among the six DEHEMS countries demonstrates quite a smooth transition of graduates from higher education to the labour market. Even if the market is under pressure, graduates and engineers in general have a good chance of getting a job. As pointed out by one Austrian representative of a university After graduating from a technical study it is a bit like in the land of milk and honey. 91% of graduates have a job upon their graduation. Most students already have a job before they graduate. A significant number of graduates in Austria become self-employed. In Germany young individuals also do not experience any problems getting a first adequate job after graduation (90% success), especially with graduates of mechanical engineering who have the best chances of all engineers. In most cases it is a gradual transition. Thus, the question is not getting a job but where to get a job. Some graduates have the possibility to climb the ladder relatively early after they have started working; others stay for some time in their positions. Income differentiation also plays a significant role in making a decision on where to get a job. In Italy it takes less than four months to get a job after graduation and after one year unemployment is around 10 percent, with around 65% of graduates working and the remaining (22%) attending further study programmes. In Turkey graduates of engineering domain generally do not experience difficulties finding a job; however, there are some geographical differences in terms of employability. In industrial cities (e.g. Gaziantep) the transition to work is much smoother. 175

177 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Polish graduates are also prepared for labour market requirements as 70% of first-cycle studies graduates are working at the time they graduate. This is an argument against the critique of the Bologna Process which claims that 3.5 years is too short a period to train engineers. Data from the Employment Service of Slovenia show that there is no unemployment among graduates of engineering study programmes. Placements during one s study often lead to employment after graduation. In general, higher education institutions are not concerned with the employability of engineering graduates. One of the assumptions for the university administration not being strongly involved in keeping track of graduates in engineering on a formal level is expressed in one interview: It is not because this question is regarded as being of little importance, but because the faculty s authorities are pretty sure that the graduates don t have serious problems finding a job (PL). Although the above interviewee stressed that this assumption was mostly made intuitively, as can be seen from the above, interviewees from all participating countries highlighted an easy transition of graduates from engineering studies to the labour market. There is no need to do more on career counselling or counselling on the transition to work. The study programmes have been renewed in the framework of the Bologna reform and project courses have been introduced where students are confronted with realistic tasks that could be encountered in the real world. On one hand, this concept leads to practice and industry, on the other hand, it is research-oriented. Thus, study programmes as such are extremely practically-oriented and enable employability (DE) Understanding of career success Professional success is defined by personal experience The employment success of higher education graduates has been one of the key research topics in studies of graduate employment and work. This section aims to reveal the interviewees personal understanding of the professional success of graduates 1. There is no unified view across the interviewed experts on what constitutes the career success of graduates in engineering, instead, a range of various interpretations was provided. Also, the views cannot be ascribed geographically as a specific viewpoint of the interviewees in one country; therefore, the results will be shown by country and arranged thematically. The interviewees from Austria asserted that Success is if a graduate is able to further develop himself/herself in the job and is satisfied with the job. If you feel miserable with your job, you are not successful. There has to be a balance between using professional skills and professional development. Another view is that success is not to reach the highest position possible. A successful career is different for everyone. One might not even want to obtain a position in upper management. There is no general measure of success. German interviewees consider professional success as getting employment and climbing the ladder. This means in many cases that a graduate does not have special engineering tasks anymore, but tasks in general management that could be the task of any graduate with an academic degree. Another view, that is similar to Austrian views, is that professional success has to be defined on an individual level. Everybody should find a definition for himself and criteria on the way to be professionally successful. Graduates are successful in their professional life when firstly they have a possibility to work on a topic of great interest to them, secondly, when they have a good working team, and then after many empty levels comes income as a factor (relatively unimportant) of a successful professional career. 176

178 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project According to the Polish interviewees, the professional success of graduates can be described as having a job, pursuing own professional interests at work, being appreciated by the employer, knowing what she/he wants to achieve, being accepted by the professional environment, having public trust, getting an attractive salary, having professional development prospects, getting a job at a desired location, participating in many international contests and receiving international awards for projects and being employed in a reputable company. Other sources claim that the etymology of the word is closer to the French expression meaning someone who is a genuine creator in the area of technology. A Polish representative of a higher education institution strongly supports this idea of the job of engineer. Therefore, in providing his definition of labour market success, he underlined the creative aspect of a potential graduate s job. Interviewees from Turkey pointed out that being a good engineer is the key factor for career success. This means that a graduate should follow all new techniques and combine them in a productive way. Therefore, foreign language skills and international contacts are very important. Another viewpoint is that at the beginning of a professional path finding a job itself represents success and getting a desired job as well as being promoted at a later stage constitute long-term career success. The viewpoint among Slovenian interviewees varies in the sense that some consider graduates satisfaction with their position, even if it is different from their field of study, as success, whereas others underline the education-job match. A diverse professional focus of graduates The professional orientation of higher education graduates is quite diverse in all DEHEMS countries because the spectrum of professional fields for engineering graduates is extremely broad. Engineering graduates from Turkey and Slovenia are employed in both private and governmental sectors. In the majority of respective countries (Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Turkey), graduates are especially required in high-tech companies and in areas where research and development activities dominate. The interview responses show that graduates usually prefer to work in industry in production, quality control and inspection departments, or public administration. Other occupational areas include marketing, manufacture, electrical and mechanical engineering, management, process design, consulting, planning and construction, business and economics. A German interviewee estimated that about half of all engineering graduates stay in an engineering profession. A considerable number of Turkish graduates work for leading international companies in various EU and non-eu countries. Many graduates continue working as academics at universities. In Poland some general regularity among higher education graduates was observed: 25% of graduates are employed in jobs within their specialisation, 50% within their field of study and 75% in a general study area. Even though engineering faculties are assessed as strongly technical, graduates also work as exchange dealers or financial analysts. Job satisfaction and the education-work match One of the most important measures of graduates professional success is a subjective indicator job satisfaction. Overall job satisfaction is determined as "a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from an appraisal of one's job or job experiences" (Locke, 1976, p. 13). This aspect was highlighted by the higher education experts in all DEHEMS countries. Success is if our graduates are satisfied with their 177

179 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates job (AT), Professional success means having a job that makes one happy and satisfied (DE), The necessity to get a satisfactory job after graduation (PL) and If graduates are satisfied with their job positions then this is career success. If a graduate is satisfied he can work well, if he works well, he is successful (SL). The definition of professional success also comprises other subjective indicators the extent to which the qualifications correspond to the occupational structure horizontally, i.e. in terms of the match between subjects and occupational categories as well as adequate utilisation of skills acquired during one s study and vertically, i.e. in terms of the appropriateness of one s education level to the status of the occupation. A graduate is seen as successful if he/she is able to stay and further develops in the respective domain (whereas others, who are less successful, have to accept other jobs in other fields of occupation) (AT), The success of a graduate is working in the field of one s own studies (TR), Career success is when graduates are employed in the field from which they have graduated and if the knowledge, which was gained in the faculty is applied and offers them a chance of being successful (SI). Other insights In addition to the essential criteria of professional success mentioned above, the higher education experts pointed out other factors of success. Austrian and Polish experts consider technical know-how and soft skills (teamwork skills, cross-linked thinking, autonomy etc.) as the most important skills concerning graduate employability. Grades are not considered as significant criteria by companies when hiring someone; it s more about the personality match (DE). The concept of employability is not about training narrowly-specified specialists since we do not know what a graduate s professional path is going to be. Employability means providing graduates with different skills, including soft skills (PL). International experiences as well as personal contacts as highly significant aspects of getting employment and further professional success were emphasised by a German higher education expert. The labour market for higher education graduates consists of regional companies that closely cooperate with the faculties. Cooperation here comprises placements in such companies during studies as well as writing final theses in collaboration with companies. About 50% of the interviewee s graduates received their first employment via personal contacts of the interviewee with the industrial sector. In addition, well-paid and secure jobs were also mentioned as factors of career success. One Slovenian expert also referred to the social environment that career success depends on. Summarising the results, it can be stated that the understanding of professional success by higher education experts in the engineering domain from DEHEMS countries varies. But what is common is that in their interpretations the majority of experts consider both subjective (adequate level of employment, a link between the field of study and competencies acquired during study and work tasks, job satisfaction) and objective indicators (employment status, income), which are essential to adequately measure the professional success of higher education graduates The role of HEIs in the future professional activities of graduates This section presents summary results on questions concerning how the institutions support their graduates transition to work and their long-term career development. The questions cover the design of the 178

180 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project study programme, international orientation, practical orientation and practical elements of studies, research activities relevant for studies, cooperation with stakeholders and employers as well as career counselling. In light of the variety of the interviewees positions and responsibilities in all HEIs, the following trend becomes clear with regard to the study programmes across the DEHEMS countries: either the interviewees speak and relate their expertise to a definite study programme/department in engineering, or they describe the overall situation in engineering programmes at their HEI 1. Generating flexible graduates It is relevant to note that experts from all six countries highlight the fact that graduates of engineering experience a smooth transition to the labour market. Consequently, flexibility in the sense of being provided with a wide spectrum of knowledge as is, for example, the case in the domain of sociology, political science and psychology, not a primary concern of the academic study programmes in engineering. At the same time, however, the engineering field is facing constant technological change, and in this light the interviewees see a need for educating a flexible specialist: It is not possible for the HEI to be able to provide students with really up-to-date practical knowledge and skills. It is the employer s role. However, according to one interviewee in Poland, it is the role of higher education institutions to give students a very strong basis to able to absorb practical training in a fast and efficient way. Accordingly, a too narrow specialisation in engineering can cause problems in the further career of graduates: If graduates have focused too much on a special subject (e.g. laser technology) then it might be difficult to change their job or to find a job in another field (Germany). Alongside this, the interviewees spoke about other forms of curriculum flexibility: a Polish expert noted that a curriculum in his higher education institution allows a definite degree of freedom for students in choosing their study paths: It is very important that students gain general knowledge and are taught to be open-minded and ready to adapt to changing environment rather than get specific skills, which become useless as time goes by, whereas an Austrian interviewee pointed out the possibility of attending courses from a different level of programmes: Students may take courses that belong to a master programme while they are still in their bachelor study. [These courses can be credited afterwards] Therefore we can offer some flexibility in the system. At the same time, the interviewees stressed the constant introduction and enlargement of the modules/courses in competencies and skills development in the engineering studies curricula that make graduates more flexible in their career search: Courses on soft skills development are integrated in the faculty s curriculum: project management, teamwork, presentation skills, foreign language courses (Germany); In general, the 3rd and 4th year of the engineering programmes offer many elective courses to the students, which are designed according to the new developments and the popular and most needed subjects in the field (Italy); Also in courses at university, the training of soft skills for engineers is implemented e.g. giving presentations, training in rhetoric skills etc., Technical know-how and soft-skills [teamwork skills; cross-linked thinking; autonomy etc.] are the most important skills concerning graduate employability. [According to one interviewee, companies tend to complain about graduates lack of autonomy] (Austria). However, the interviewees in Germany spoke of the reluctance of many students to participate in these courses, and as one explanation for this the experts highlight the restructuring and shortening of study programmes in the course of the Bologna Process, thus giving less space for students to take extra courses of study. If we understand flexibility as including the international mobility of students, the participating HEIs report providing students in engineering with a possibility to complete a period of study (or, in some 179

181 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates cases, an internship) abroad, although the mechanisms for international exchange are developed on different levels across the countries. An interesting fact was highlighted by the German experts from both types of universities: the international mobility of engineering students in these HEIs is very low due to the primarily regional focus of the graduates employment and the already mentioned restructuring of the study programmes. In this case, the international flexibility seems at present to have nearly no value for these students with a regional focus of employment. International orientation The international dimension plays an important role in the view of the interviewees across all countries involved. It is possible to consider the international dimension from different points of view, such as the inward and outward mobility of students or staff, the offering of international study programmes, double degree programmes or in general courses in the English language, and last but not least the international orientation of research or networks and contacts with international institutions of higher education in general. Overall, the interviewees in all DEHEMS countries agree that internationalisation plays a significant role in study programmes of engineering. This holds true for the fostering of study abroad experience or internships abroad, the internationalisation of studies through invitations of international teachers, offering courses or whole degrees in English and finally well-established international networks to support international contacts of students and staff. Especially the ERASMUS programme is seen as an important possibility to support students in going abroad. Yet the interviewees also perceive some drawbacks and challenges here. Many interviewees state that too few students take the opportunity to acquire international experience for various reasons, even though many possibilities are offered. As the foci of the answers differ quite substantially by country, the feedback from the interviewees will be summarised accordingly. Only a few and short comments can be found from the Austrian interviewees as regards internationalisation. However, these comments are favourable so that one might conclude that internationalisation is somewhat taken for granted. The interviewees state that international mobility is highly appreciated at their institution and seen as an important asset. One representative outlines that his/her institution has very lively international contacts which are supportive of students gaining international experience. Except for one interviewee from Germany, who outlines that his/her institution has a clear regional focus, all interviewees strongly underline that they regard it as highly important that their graduates have acquired international experience during the course of their studies. One interview partner even describes international experience as a must. The interview partner described different ways to support the international dimension in their institutions, such as participation in exchange programmes as the ERASMUS programme, establishing an international office at the faculty, the integration of dual degree programmes with partner institutions abroad and international study programmes offered in English. However, some interviewees also mention that the number of students going abroad each year is smaller than it should be and wonder whether administrative barriers keep the students from completing a study period or internship abroad. Further, the restructuring of the study programmes in the framework of the Bologna reform is seen somewhat cautiously as regards its effect on student mobility. One interviewee has the impression that the students are under great pressure to cope with their workload and regrets a lack of flexibility in the curriculum, even though he/she admits that the recognition of study achievements has become easier. Finally, one interviewee questions whether young (bachelor) graduates will still be able to easily find a job abroad was the case prior to the Bologna reform. 180

182 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Also the interviewees in Italy agree that international mobility has an important positive effect. International activities are seen as important for fostering a graduate s competitiveness and have a positive effect on knowledge and skills in general. The interviewees state that different measures are offered to support students in gaining international experience, e.g. through participation in exchange programmes and cooperation with higher education institutions abroad. One interviewee explains that students often hesitate to go abroad since that would often result in the prolongation of their studies, even though he/she also underlines that a positive effect is perceived. The interviewees from Poland agree that international mobility is most important and note that the institutions offer many possibilities for students to acquire international experience. However, it is mentioned that too few students actually take the opportunity to complete a period abroad. One interviewee said that his/her faculty offers more possibilities to go abroad than there are students willing to take up this option. The reason for this is seen in the fact that most students already start working in the last years of their studies. This view is shared by another interviewee who stated that students from Poland seem to be somewhat hesitant about going abroad as they are too involved in their studies in the first years and too busy with graduating or already working in the later stages, even though the university is internationally very well connected. One suggestion to tackle this drawback was to establish mentors to support students in acquiring international experience. Overall, the interviewees from Slovenia see internationalisation at their institutions in a positive way. International mobility is supported by different measures at the institutions. The ERASMUS programme is seen as an important possibility in this regard. Some state that international mobility is already established, but should be enforced. The integration of international students and teachers is seen as being hindered by the fact that by law courses have to be offered in the Slovenian language, although institutions have found possibilities to deal with this, e.g. by offering joint team work for international and domestic students or special short-term courses offered by international teachers in English. The Turkish interviewees outline that internationalisation is regarded as very important and that especially the ERASMUS programme is a very important measure in this regard as regards both inward and outward mobility. Further, bilateral agreements and courses offered in English are supposed to foster international exchange. Practical orientation, cooperation with industry and internship are central tools for enhancing graduates employability skills Overall, the interviewees across all countries agree that a practical orientation is an important trait of the study programmes offered in the area of engineering. This is often realised by close cooperation with industry. Many lecturers have practical working experience in companies. Further, there is often cooperation in research projects between universities and the industry. Another measure is that internships are integrated into the course of studies. Internships or industry placements are not always mandatory, but the overall feedback of the interviewees suggests that, after having completed their studies, most students will have completed an internship either during their studies, as a placement for their thesis or as an internship between the bachelor and master programmes. Further, practical parts are integrated directly into the course of study or as projects initiated and developed by the students as part of the study programme. In general, many interviewees stressed that placements and internships are seen very positively by companies in the industry as it is regarded as a possibility to get in contact with qualified new staff and that graduates often find their first job via an internship: This obligatory internship is extremely important 181

183 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates since students often get their first job offer from the company where they did their practical phase (DE). However, two interviewees (one from Italy, one from Poland) explain that it is very difficult to find adequate offers for internships in the industry. The statements of the interviewees in different contexts suggest that many faculties work in quite close cooperation with industry. In general, cooperation is perceived as important to foster the employability of the graduates. Joint research projects are named as well as the integration of lecturers who have broad experience in the industry. Other interviewees mentioned that companies act as sponsors of different activities. Further, the higher education institutions cooperate with industry as regards internships or placements or for the realisation of bachelor or master theses. One interviewee from Germany stated they have a database of alumni and companies in the region that offer traineeships and that they are even representatives of employers on the examination board. This view is shared by an Turkish interviewee: If you are a regional university, you can have contacts from the world of work easily and they are very open to support your activities (Turkey). In addition, some interviewees pointed out that suggestions from the industry are taken into consideration when developing or adjusting curricula: For curricula development, employers should be included in the process (Turkey). Also in Austria the cooperation between employers and higher education institutions is seen to be quite close. One interviewee mentioned that graduates often initiate joint research projects between their companies and the university or that topics for theses are generated jointly by a company and the university. In Italy, one interviewee explained that Relationships between public and private entities are not institutionalised and systematic, nonetheless they are wide, frequent and very useful. Scholars keep in touch with external organisations for research, internships and consultancy reasons (Italy). This view is shared by the other interviewees from Italy, except that one explained that contacts with international companies are good, but sees contacts with local employers as being quite unsatisfactory. Research activities are important for multiple aspects in relation to the labour market In general, research activities are seen beneficial for preparing students for their professional life in various aspects. First, the experts surveyed consider integration into research as an important measure to ensure the contents of the study programme are up to date and deal with current developments. Further, the interviewees stressed that involvement in research projects provides excellent opportunities for students to get in contact with the world of work and potential employers. Many graduates, as already mentioned, find their first job via these contacts. The interviewees pointed out that there are different opportunities for the students to get involved in research, such as working as a student assistant in research projects or in study projects directly integrated into the curriculum. Further, many students seize the opportunity to prepare their thesis in cooperation with a company: All of our students have to prepare a research project in their last semester. Teachers support them to cooperate with employers in those projects. And, the projects should also be applicable. (Turkey) Finally, the interviewees explain that the scope of research (e.g. applied research, basic research) depends on the scope and type of the higher education institution. One Italian interviewee saw a drawback here is they explained that (highly theoretical, innovative approach) research does not match the needs of local industry. 182

184 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Recruitment services and career counselling The transition to work is generally seen as smooth and unproblematic, even described as sensational (AT). This might be the reason that it is not always seen as necessary to implement systematic procedures to support graduates transition. Despite this, as regards perceived needs for improvement, many experts explained that more systematic support would be desirable. Many interviewees outlined that personal contacts of lecturers, in projects and through internships, often help students even find a job prior to graduation. In Germany, the practical orientation of the study programme and contacts with employers through placements, lecturers, excursions or cooperation with companies in writing a thesis are seen as very important. Further, some faculties or employment centres offer courses to improve the soft skills of their graduates. This view is shared by the Austrian interviewees. They also underline the importance of contacts though internships or writing a thesis at a company. Similarly to Germany, trainings, activities and workshops for soft skills are on offer. Further, special help was mentioned for students thinking about founding a start-up or becoming self-employed. The Italian study programmes include seminars and lectures given by practitioners from companies through which students can get in contact with industry. Job centres as well as the faculties offer trainings, seminars, international programmes and contacts for internships or placements. The Polish interviewees, like the Slovenian and Turkish experts, pointed out that companies contact the professors or faculties to ask for suitable students. According to the interviewees, institutions like career service centres are not common and, if a university has such an institution, their work is limited. Contacts with former graduates The analysis of the ways higher education institutions get in contact with their former students and follow their professional path demonstrated some similarities among the countries involved, except Italy as this question was not addressed in the interviews. The spectrum of activities in this sphere includes alumni associations/clubs that offer special workshops and organise social events, large and small-scale graduate surveys as well as non-formal personal contacts with graduates. Contacts with graduates in Austria are also maintained via recruiting events, electronic communication as well as the Association of Friends and Graduates. A similar association exists in Germany. It is called Aufbau and is directed to supporting graduates of civil engineering. Moreover, contacts are kept by faculties which conduct regular surveys of the retrospective evaluation of the studies and their potential relevance for the professional activities of graduates. Although regular formal contacts with graduates are not maintained by Polish higher education institutions, the interviewees stated that they have a pretty good orientation regarding the professional path of their graduates. In Turkey a new software programme is being developed under the supervision of the student registrar s office. It is aimed at creating a direct link with graduates. This programme will help follow and have feedback especially with regard to the competencies required in the respective field. The feedback on graduates is also received from employers as well as career centres. In Slovenia contacts among graduates and universities are kept through some professional assignments, co-mentorships, cooperation with faculties as guest lectors, demonstrators, research work. Despite the availability of various means to stay in touch with graduates, they are not followed systematically and formal contacts on the side of higher education institutions are not very developed yet. 183

185 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Student-centred teaching fosters soft skills Among other issues, it is worthwhile noting that many interviewees across all countries outlined the importance of innovative, student-centred teaching strategies such as project work and the integration of students into research projects. Special modules to foster teamwork, soft skills and meta competencies are already on offer or called for Developmental needs In Austria, many interviewees called for better study conditions in general, such as better funding and infrastructure and a high level of permanent staff and an improvement of teaching as such. This is reflected in the demand to focus, besides on technical skills, on soft skills and meta-competencies and the call to implement them in university courses as well as in the curricula. Further, it was demanded to enhance the transferable skills of students. Finally, the interviewees expressed the concern that it is important to attract more students and to enhance numbers of enrolment in general, but especially as regards women: We re fighting to get more ladies here. That s a topic we ll have for eternity (AT). In Germany, similar to Austria, there is a call for better study conditions in general, but as regards somewhat different areas. The interviewees asked for a better composition of study plans and especially for a better structure of the Bachelor-Master system. More flexibility is seen as required as some courses do not need to be bound to a certain level. Further, it was pointed out that an increase of the number of students should not result in a decrease of study conditions and that better support for writing a PhD thesis should be given, as one interviewee outlined, who saw the danger that many graduates will complete their PhD abroad: What is missing are capacities in the mid-level faculty. It is extremely difficult for graduates to write a PhD thesis at a university in Germany. Thus, they try to do one abroad (e.g. in Great Britain). This is a big hurdle for those graduates who want to climb the ladder or those who want to stay in research. Finally, a need was perceived to improve career services, e.g. by job offers communicated via the faculty and to strengthen alumni activities in general. The primary challenge in Italy is seen in the fact that more new students should enrol each year. Further, one interviewee explained that the knowledge and skills of new students needs to be improved upon enrolment, i.e. in secondary education. Many interviewees expressed a need to review and develop the curricula by taking the needs of stakeholders and employers into account. There was a call for a common strategy all over the country to identify productive sector needs and match them with higher education (IT). In Poland, there was a call for more flexibility in higher education institutions regarding the possibility to review and adapt curricula, teaching modes or the recruitment of lecturers according to current needs: Like at most public, old-fashioned higher education institutions, at this university, any changes in curricula, teaching modes etc. are quite difficult to implement. That is a serious obstacle to dynamic adjustment to emerging problems. As regards knowledge and skills, especially the need to put a stronger emphasis on personal development, soft skills, and teamwork was advocated: The low level of graduates abilities for group work and the lack of soft skills is the key problem indicated by employers. There should be more occasions to train these skills during the study process. Like in Italy, one interviewee postulated that new students need to have better knowledge and skills upon enrolment. 184

186 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Further, the interviewees expressed the need to establish the systematic follow up of graduates career paths as well as systematic feedback of employers to use this knowledge for reviewing the curriculum. Turkish interviewees especially mentioned the desire for more professional career counselling, possibly integrating the employer s view, as well as better cooperation with employers especially as regards sustainable research projects. In Slovenia, it is difficult to identify common trends among the responses from the experts. One might be the need to integrate more obligatory practical elements and experiential work into the course of studies as well as to improve the applicability of the final thesis: It would make sense to include obligatory practical training also for the academic level of study programmes. Further, better infrastructure, such as more laboratories and equipment, was called for: There is a problem of providing adequate equipment and instruments which are needed for research work and also for work with students. Finally, the interviewees asked to establish more professional career centres to systematically support graduates in their transition to the labour market Conclusion Overall, the analysis of the study domain of engineering, the overview of the study conditions and provisions of engineers and their early careers reveal some common trends across all countries as well as individual characteristics that differ from country to country. While the general situation of students in the field of engineering, their transition to employment and the early career of the graduates can be seen very positively, there are quite substantial variations among the different countries as regards many details. This becomes obvious in the analysis of the study domain of engineering as well as in the feedback of the interviewed experts and actors in the field of engineering. The requirements to become a full member of the profession in the engineering domain differ in the DEHEMS countries. In Germany and in Turkey, graduation from an engineering study programme allows one to use the title "engineer" without any additional steps. In Austria and in Slovenia, depending on the engineering programme, graduates need to fulfil defined qualifications to be a certified engineer, e.g. a certain number of years of work experience or an examination conducted by a competent body (e.g. the Federal Chamber of Architects and Engineering Consultants in Austria, the Slovenian Chamber of Engineers). In Poland, there is a considerable number of professions in the engineering domain for which it is necessary to hold an appropriate certificate confirming qualifications and the right to perform the given profession. The transition process from higher education to employment for graduates of engineering study programmes is individualised in the DEHEMS countries. After graduation, graduates apply directly for a job or continue studying for a PhD. The data from the REFLEX and HEGESCO projects on the transition process to the labour market and on aspects of lifelong learning permit the following conclusions. In all DEHEMS countries, except Turkey, the situation of engineering graduates in the labour market was relatively good. Most graduates found a job within three months after graduation. The study programme has been regarded as a good basis for starting work in Austria and in Germany. In contrast, Turkey and Slovenia revealed the lowest shares of those answering this question in a favourable way. Again, in Austria and in Germany graduates were extremely satisfied with their current job whereas the surveyed graduates in Italy and Turkey judged their situation much more critically. 185

187 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Nearly all surveyed graduates in Poland agreed that their knowledge and skills were being utilised in their current work to a very high level. Regarding job characteristics, namely the opportunity to learn new things, graduates from Austria rated their situation most favourably whereas graduates from Turkey were the most sceptical. Similarly, the share of graduates who had taken part in a work-related training course within the last 12 months was the highest in Austria and the lowest in Turkey and Italy. Overall, the results of the REFLEX and HEGESCO projects on the transition process to the labour market and on the characteristics of the first job show that the situation of graduates in the field of engineering is seen very positively in Austria and Germany, while graduates from Italy and Turkey rate their situation quite critically. The analysis of the national reports of lifelong learning revealed that in some DEHEMS countries such as Germany, Poland and Italy, further education is expected and recommended but not demanded for engineers. In other countries such as Austria, many professions in the domain of engineering bind their members to the lifelong learning process where responsibility for the details of continuing education is assigned to the respective chambers. In Turkey, a Lifelong Learning Strategy Document was approved which introduces rules of lifelong learning on a legal basis. It is difficult to identify common trends across the DEHEMS countries in the responses of the experts interviewed in the field of engineering. Yet it is overall possible to conclude that the interviewed experts agree with regard to the high employability of graduates in the area of engineering, the smooth transition to the labour market and good career prospects. Even though there are some variations by country and it is possible to perceive a certain tendency that experts from Austria and Germany see an even better employment situation than experts from Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Turkey, the view across all DEHEMS countries may be described as very positive. The professional orientation of graduates is very diverse in the view of the experts. This is, first, due to the broad range of professional fields in the area of engineering and, second, the different economic landscapes in the DEHEMS countries. However, in most countries (especially Germany, Austria, but also Turkey and Slovenia), graduates work in areas where research and development are the dominant activities. As regards the view of professional success, the responses are even more diverse while it is not possible to identify certain tendencies by country. The reason might be the abovementioned diversity of professional activities and economic environments. Further, one might conclude that the perception of professional success is influenced to a relatively high extent by personal experience. Two aspects, which can be identified across all countries, however, are satisfaction in one s job as well as the match of education and work. The correspondence of education and work tasks as an indicator of professional success is underlined both as regards the horizontal match, i.e. professional subjects and knowledge and skills, and vertical match, i.e. an adequate level of employment and status. Across all DEHEMS countries the interviewed experts agree that graduates in the field of engineering experience a smooth transition to the world of work as they quickly find an adequate job directly or soon after graduation. Many interviewees, again across all the countries involved, underline that contacts with employers, e.g. during internships, facilitate the process. Moreover, the interviewed experts agree that a practical orientation is an important trait of study programmes offered in the area of engineering. Consequently, cooperation between industry and faculties is often close and perceived as very important, e.g. via the integration of lecturers with practical experience or cooperation in research projects and is seen as very beneficial to the employability of graduates. Internationalisation plays an important role in the view of 186

188 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project experts in all DEHEMS countries. This includes the mobility of both students and staff as well as establishing international study programmes and an international orientation of teaching and research in general. While the feedback differs quite substantially from country to country, many experts agree that especially offers for student mobility could be used more frequently. As the transition to work is seen as smooth and unproblematic, it is not surprising that career counselling or recruitment services are mostly realised in an informal way, e.g. by helping students to get in contact with employers for internships or writing the final thesis. Across all the countries involved, these contacts are seen as very important for an unproblematic transition to work. In spite of the generally very positive view, the interviewed experts still describe some needs for development and improvement. Again, it is very difficult to identify common trends across the different countries. A few suggestions can however be identified in many countries: Many interviewees call for greater flexibility within the study programmes in general, i.e. to have the possibility to include courses that foster soft skills and meta competencies. In many countries, the experts express a concern that it would be important to attract more students to enrol each year. Finally, many experts call for better study conditions as regards various aspects, e.g. better funding and infrastructure, but also better learning and teaching conditions such as a higher level of permanent teaching staff. 187

189 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Arzu Akkoyunlu Wigley, Sibel Aksu Yildirim, Selda Onderoglu, Bugay Turhan 5.4 MEDICINE Introduction The aim of this section is to explore the general characteristics of medicine and related studies, which includes the study field of medicine, dental studies, medical diagnostic and treatment technology, therapy and rehabilitation and pharmacy. As in other sections of this report, the general characteristics of the profession will be examined by using the both databases of HEGESCO and REFLEX and national reports. The ensuing insights will to some extent help answer if there is a need to modernise and harmonise medical education and training across Europe with the argument that such a trend enhances cooperation between international medical research institutions. This addresses general policy concerns in higher education such as quality assurance, effectiveness, accessibility, openness, coherence and the incorporation of ICT and the implications for health-care delivery and education/training (MEDINE2). Recently, medical education in Europe has been subject to comprehensive changes. In this respect, most medical schools/faculties in the European region have, especially over the last decade, been actively engaged in reforming their medical programmes (WFME, 2005:3). Following the Bologna Process, Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council provides a framework for mutual recognition on the basis of the coordination of minimum training conditions. It is stipulated that basic medical training shall comprise a total of at least 6 years of study or 5,500 hours of theoretical and practical training provided by or under the supervision of a university (Hensen, 2010:144). Also the TUNING Project has aimed to promote harmonisation in the HE sector. In 2004, the Tuning (Medicine) Task Force generated and focused on learning outcomes for primary medical degree qualifications in Europe. The work has been done under the auspices of the MEDINE Thematic Network for Medical Education in Europe (Tuning Project Medicine: 9). It has had a considerable impact. For example, the 2009 version of "Tomorrow s Doctors", guidance for medical schools from the UK General Medical Council, currently under consultation 64, is heavily based on the Tuning outcomes, as referenced in the document. However, there is wide variability in the extent to which medical schools across Europe have adopted an outcomes-based approach to their teaching and assessment. Where such approaches have been adopted, there is considerable variation in the outcomes being used. This means it is difficult to be sure that all medical graduates in Europe are competent in core aspects of medical practice. Also the MEDINE2 Thematic Network in Medical Education in Europe is built on the work of Tuning Medicine (MEDINE) In contrast with the two-cycle programmes within the Bologna Process framework, programmes in medicine are still mostly provided in a single cycle lasting 5 to 6 years and lead directly to a master s degree (or equivalent). Seven out of 45 countries, namely, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Portugal, Armenia, Iceland and Switzerland have adopted the two-cycle system but there is great variability and ongoing concerns about the comparability of the degrees. At present, a real two-cycle system (undergraduate and graduate) in the Bologna sense is still rarely implemented in medical education across Europe (Hensen, 2010:143). 64 See 188

190 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project One objective, the adoption of a system essentially based on two main cycles, undergraduate and graduate, in medical education is regarded as problematic by several countries and many medical schools and seen as potentially harmful to the quality of medical education. Implementing this objective will require careful analysis and considerations (WFME, 2005:4). Similarly, WFME (2005) points out that medical education is costly and most countries need medical doctors they can afford to educate. Diverting students from the path to a full medical qualification must be regarded as a debatable educational policy (WFME, 2005:7). In this context, the idea of the Bologna three-cycle model for medical education has been controversial, with concerns arising about loss of curriculum integration and the employment status of first-cycle graduates. While many elements are non-controversial when applied to medicine, problems have been identified with issues such as the proposal for a two-cycle model. Those opposing implementation of the process have expressed serious concerns that the result would be a retrograde step reinforcing the separation of basic and clinical sciences in the curriculum Statistical overview Number of graduates Table 5.28 (OECD data) shows that from 2005 to 2010 the numbers of graduates in field of health and welfare grew in Poland, Germany and Austria. When looking at the share of these graduates compared to all graduates, we note the growth of the field of medicine in Italy and Poland. Italy also has the biggest shares of health and welfare graduates with around 15%, while Austria and Poland have the smallest shares among the DEHEMS countries. 189

191 Percent Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Table 5.28: Number of graduates in the Health and welfare field (medicine) Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey % of tertiary graduates Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey Source: Own elaboration based on OECD (2011) Subdomain structure According to OECD data (Figure 5.32), among DEHEMS countries the structure of the health domain seems to be fairly similar in Turkey, Poland, Austria and Italy where 85% or more graduates finished programmes in health subdomains. Also in Germany and Slovenia the majority of graduates were enrolled in programmes in health subdomains only in smaller shares (60-65%), meaning that Social services in this two countries are more popular than in other countries. Figure 5.31: Structure of the Health domain (Medicine) graduates broken down by subdomains 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey Country Social services (ISC 76) Health (ISC 72) Source: Own elaboration based on OECD (2011). Note: Latest available data for Austria for

192 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Gender Distribution Statistical data from the DEHEMS national reports show that the percentage of women in all study programmes in this domain is very high in DEHEMS countries. In Germany, the share of women in all study programmes in this domain is over 50% - especially in nursing and "other medical therapy-programmes" - both traditional female fields. Similarly in Austria, 64.8% of all students in Health and Social services are female in public universities, while this ratio is 57.3% for private universities. In Poland 69.8% of all students enrolled in the study field Medicine and Pharmacology are female. In Slovenia 76.3% of such students are female. Although there is more balanced distribution in Turkey, the female ratio is still greater than the male ratio in some fields. In the medicine field, the male share is 57%, in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation it is 52%. However, in the faculties of Dentistry and Pharmacy the number of female students is greater than male students. The share of females in dentistry is 53% while in Pharmacy it is 51%. In addition to the high percentage of women in the field, another striking fact is that in some countries the number of women in the field has also increased in recent years. For example, in Germany, medicine and dentistry has continuously expanded over the last decades. Today, some comments are made that this higher number of women is a problem for the German health system. It is argued that women go less into surgery and more often leave their job for family reasons. Both factors support the often claimed (but unproven) shortage of doctors in Germany. In Turkey, parallel to the increase in the overall number of students in the domain, the number of female students has also risen. In comparison with the academic year, in there was a 12% increase in the number of female students in medicine, 22% in density and 10% more female students in pharmacy. According to OECD data (Figure 5.33), we can say that the distribution of female students in the medicine domain is quite similar to the distribution across all study fields (60-70%). However, when looking at the subdomains we note a much higher percentage of female students in the health subdomain (around 85%), especially in Italy and Slovenia (90% or more). Meanwhile, in the subdomain of Social services this percentage is a slightly above 50%, the highest being in Slovenia and Poland (above 60%). Figure 5.32: Degree of feminisation of the Medicine domain 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Total over all study fields Health and welfare (ISC 70) Source: Own elaboration based on OECD (2011). Note: Latest available data for Austria for Health (ISC 72) 191 Social services (ISC 76) Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey

193 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Family Background Studies on the determinants of education show that family background is one of the important factors regarding access to schooling. There is a big variation among the HEGESCO and REFLEX countries with respect to the highest education level of the parents of medicine students (Schomburg and Löwenstein, 2010: Table 107). However, a higher education of the father does play a significant role in the medicine domain. In 15 out of the 17 countries, the ratio of all medicine students with an academic family background is over 30%. Answers to the question about the highest education of the father show that 85% of all medicine students in Germany have a father with the highest education level of ISCED Other countries where the relevant ratio is over 60% are Japan, Spain, France and Belgium. In that sense, PT constitutes an exception because 64% of all medicine students in PT have a father with the highest education level of ISCED Student Mobility There has been a significant increase in student mobility over the last years. The total number of mobile tertiary education students has risen 61% since 1999 and was estimated at around 2.7 million in 2005 (WES, 2007). According to the European Union, student and teacher mobility is an important factor for growth and employment. The European Commission states that Learning mobility is an important way in which young people can strengthen their future employability and acquire new professional competences, while enhancing their development as active citizens (EC, 2010: 2). The Commission s Green Paper on Learning Mobility (July 2009) launched a public consultation on how best to tackle obstacles to mobility and open up more opportunities for learning abroad (EC, 2010: 2). The HEGESCO and REFLEX countries do not constitute a uniform bloc in terms of study-related work experience. There is a big variation between the countries in this respect. For example, in FI 77% of the graduates had acquired study-related work experience during their studies, but in Belgium this figure was 19% (Figure 5.34). It is also evident from the table that the ratios of graduates who had acquired studyrelated work experience during their studies for four DEHEMS countries, namely Italy, Germany, Slovenia and Austria, are well above the average for HEGESCO and REFLEX countries. 84% of graduates reported that they took part in one or more work placement/internships as part of their study programme. This ratio is over 68% in all DEHEMS countries, except Italy. 192

194 PL TR IT BE SP UK NL PT HU CZ LT SI EE DE NO AT FI FR TOTAL Per cent of answers Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Figure 5.33: Study-related work experiences during study, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question B3 (Hegesco), B3 (Reflex): Did you acquire any study-related work experiences? Responses ''yes'' on a scale of answers''yes'' and ''no''. Data concerning the mobility of medicine students from HEGESCO and REFLEX countries shows that student mobility during the period of study is very high in some DEHEMS countries like Austria (64%), Germany (62%) and Slovenia (53%), although it is only 10% in Poland and 15% in Turkey and Italy.The other striking fact about mobility is that mobility during the study time period is much higher than mobility after graduation (Schomburg and Löwenstein, 2010: Tables 98 and 100). For example, mobility during the period of study is 46% in Germany, but this rate decreases to 8% after graduation. This is true for the DEHEMS countries, except Turkey. 18% of Turkish graduates have spent some time abroad since graduation for study or work, whereas only 10% studied abroad during the study period. The explanation of the 10% who studied abroad during their study period for Turkey is that university students are financially dependent on their families during their study period; thus they do not ask for extra money to study abroad. The Erasmus programme has had a very positive effect on this ratio since students have begun to be funded under Erasmus for their study abroad period. Turkey began to participate in the Erasmus programme in After graduating, students there begin to earn money and thus are able to spend some time abroad to study or they find scholarships for their study period abroad Study provisions and conditions Programme Characteristics In the HEGESCO and REFLEX countries 81% of the graduates indicate that their programme was regarded as demanding to a very high extent. With respect to the DEHEMS countries, 99% of Austrian graduates provided the answers of the demandingness of their study programme, but on the other hand Slovenian graduates had the lowest percentage among DEHEMS countries, that is 70%. The percentages of graduates from other DEHEMS countries range from 84% and 89%. Comparing to other domain, we can say that study programmes of medicine are regarded as quite demanding. 193

195 AT DE SP FR PT IT SI LT PL EE BE TR CZ UK NL NO HU FI TOTAL Per cent of answers FR SI NL FI DE NO IT LT EE HU SP CZ BE TR PL PT UK AT TOTAL Per cent of answers Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Regarding the academic prestige of study programmes from the field of medicine we can note that in Austria 88% of the medicine graduates think their study programme was regarded as academically prestigious, while on the other hand this percentage in Slovenia is only 40% what is also below European average. Figure 5.34: Academic prestige of the study programme, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question A5f (HEGESCO), A6f (REFLEX): To what extent was the study programme academically prestigious? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent''. Although there is wide variation among the countries concerning the extent to which graduates reported the programme was vocationally oriented, 65% of graduates reported that it was vocationally oriented to a very high extent. The vocational orientation of higher education programmes varies from 23% in Austria to 89% in Finland. Surprisingly, in some countries where the vocational orientation of education is emphasised, the share of graduates reporting the programme was vocationally oriented to a very high extent was low (23% for Austria and 27% for Germany) (Figure 5.36). Figure 5.35: Vocational orientation of the study programme, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question A5e (HEGESCO), A6e (REFLEX): To what extent was the programme vocationally oriented? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent''. 194

196 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project In summary, in terms of the programme characteristics, results of the HEGESCO and REFLEX surveys indicate that medical education in the surveyed countries is very demanding but not as academically prestigious at the same level. Although there are variations between countries, in general graduates of medical sciences think that their programmes are vocationally oriented. There are some differences in higher education in medical sciences among different countries. In that respect, the survey results show that neither the HEGESCO nor REFLEX countries can be considered as a homogenous group Teaching and Learning Modes The methods used in medicine programmes most often mentioned are lectures (4.0), theories and paradigms (3.62), the teacher as the main source of information and multiple-choice exams (3.09). There are also some differences in characteristics between countries in the domain of medicine: There is the highly above-average (3.09) use of multiple-choice exams in Germany (4.52) and Poland (3.91), while Italy it is well below-average (2.26).In Austria (2.30) oral presentations are less characteristic for medicine than in other DEHEMS countries. In Italy, we can note the reverse situation with the highest use of oral presentation among countries (3.43). 195

197 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Table 5.29: Average score of assessments of study programme characteristics in the medicine domain (mean of possible answers ranged from 1 to 5- see REFLEX/HEGESCO questionnaire) Non- DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Total Extent to which the following characteristics were emphasised in the study programme: Multiple-choice exams Oral presentations Written assignments Problem-based learning Teacher as the main source of information Theories and paradigms Research project Group assignments Lectures Academically prestigious programme Employers familiar with the content of the programme To what extent has your study programme been a good basis for: Personal development Performing your current work tasks Starting work Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Across all six DEHEMS countries, medicine graduates quite often ( ) see their programme as a good basis for personal development, for performing current work tasks and for starting work. In terms of the modes of teaching and learning, according to the graduates assessment most emphasis is given to lectures. A third of all graduates reported a strong emphasis on group assignments and a quarter of graduates emphasised written assignments. (Figures 5.36 and 5.37). 196

198 BE CZ SP AT PL HU NL DE EE IT TR NO FR LT SI PT FI UK TOTAL Per cent of answers BE AT DE SP IT SI TR FR LT EE CZ PL UK NO HU PT NL FI TOTAL Per cent of answers Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Figure 5.36: Emphasis on group assignments, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question A6b (HEGESCO), A7b (REFLEX): To what extent were group assignments emphasised in the study programme as a mode of teaching and learning? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent''. Especially in terms of the emphasis on group assignments, the countries show quite a similar pattern. Although in general the emphasis on participation in a research project (average 12%) and problem-based learning (average 17%) is not very high, one positive aspect reported by the graduates is that a multiplechoice exam is not a very common evaluation method. Figure 5.37: Emphasis on written assignments, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question A6i (HEGESCO), A7i (REFLEX): To what extent were written assignments emphasised in the study programme as a mode of teaching and learning? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent''. Therefore, one can conclude that although there are variations between countries, traditional lecturing and multiple-choice assessment are not the main modes of teaching and assessment methods in the field of medicine. DEHEMS countries fit into this picture to a large extent, but Poland and Turkey are exceptions in the sense that the ratios reported for multiple-choice exams by graduates are above the sample average. 197

199 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Results of the country reports show that in the DEHEMS countries medicine, pharmacy and dentistry are traditionally taught in universities. In Austria and Germany, some programmes are mainly offered by a university of applied sciences. In Germany, other programmes like medical therapy, health sciences/management or nursing are offered by a university of applied sciences. An important characteristic of the domain is that study programmes and education are regulated in all DEHEMS countries. In Germany, programmes are centrally regulated by the "Approbationsordnung" (Approbation is the official licence to practice as a medical doctor). In Italy, the professional domain is characterised as being regulated by a consolidated and legal system and by the presence of more stakeholders than any other professional domain. Other than higher education institutions, the ministry of education, university and research (MIUR, Ministero dell istruzione, università e ricerca), in charge of governing this sector, planning and implementing national policies and monitoring universities activities, and the National Universities Committee (CUN, Consiglio Universitario Nazionale) in charge of approving programmes, many other institutions such as the ministry of health, local governments and professional associations are involved in decisions on the professional domain and consequently on higher education programmes. The national standards for pre-graduate medical education for Turkey were developed by the Turkish Accreditation Committee for Medical Education (TACME). The average study time in medical sciences is 12 semesters in all DEHEMS countries but Germany (13 semesters). The average study length in dentistry is 10 semesters in Italy, Poland and Turkey but in Germany the average study length is currently 11 to 12 semesters. The average study time in pharmacy is the longest in Poland (11 semesters) and 9 semesters in Austria and 10 semesters in other DEHEMS countries. A very important element of this domain in all countries is practical training. For example, in Germany the first practical period is the so-called "nursing traineeship" (Pflegepraktikum). Most students already do this before starting their study (sometimes even as pre-condition for their application). This traineeship must be three months long (it can be split) and must be finished by the first state exam (after two years of study). In addition, medical students have to do a first-aid course. In the clinical phase, students have to complete another four months of clinical traineeships (famulaturen) during their university holidays. Finally, there is one year of practice (48 weeks) in which students work as kind of "assistant doctor" in a hospital. The focus here is on training in doctoral competencies and working with patients. Similarly in Austria, a very important element of doctors education is practical training. Like in the theoretical part of the curriculum, the compulsory clinical traineeship ( Famulatur ) has to cover different fields of medicine. Depending on the curriculum, between 18 and 37 weeks of a practical training period are required to complete the degree. In Turkey, the medical curriculum is composed of three-year premedical and three-year medical parts The medical part forms the second three years of medical education and contains compulsory clinical traineeship in different fields (4 th and 5 th years) and an internship period (6 th year). So in Turkey practical training forms an important part of medical education. In Italy, the programme consists of a minimum 6 months internship. In Slovenia, practical training is an important part of the study programme and is implemented in the second half of the sixth year of the study programme. In Poland, the rules and forms of practical training are left up to HEIs to determine, and vary from one institution to another. 198

200 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Although the data provided by the countries do not allow us to compare the size of the field in terms of the number of universities, one can still say that the size of the medicine and pharmacy field is considerable in all DEHEMS countries. In total, 22 Austrian higher education institutions provide studies in this domain 65. These 22 HEIs comprise nine public and three private universities as well as ten universities of applied sciences. In Germany, the number of HEIs offering programmes in the field of medicine is around 38, in dentistry it is around 30 and in pharmacy it is around 24. For Turkey, the respective figures are 57, 22 and 12. In Poland, there are 79 (31 public and 48 non-public) institutions of higher education offering study programmes in the field of Medicine and Pharmacology. Another important fact is that the number of students in this domain rose in Turkey and Germany. Especially in Turkey, there is a dramatic increase in the number of students. If we compare the number students registered in and , there is a 10% increase in the total number of students enrolled in medicine (ISCED 721). In dentistry, the total number of enrolled students increased by 16%. In Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, a 31% increase in the total number of enrolled students is observed. Finally, in Pharmacy there is a 13% rise in the total number of enrolled students. Although the number of students in Germany has been steadily growing since 2003, it seems that this increase is due to the expansion of study programmes in the area of medical therapy and health sciences and not because of the traditional fields like medicine and dentistry. On the contrary, there has been a slight decrease in the number of enrolled students in recent years. But with the number of studies enrolled 66 going down from 20,277 in 2006 to 19,754 in 2007, and 19,148 in 2008 (uni:data), this may still be seen as a moderate decline if not a more or less stable figure. If we consider the number of foreign students as an indicator of the internationalisation of the education, the country reports show that the DEHEMS countries do not constitute a uniform bloc in this respect. For example, in Austria the number of foreign students in the health sector was 23.7% in On the other hand, the low numbers of the foreign student quota for 2009 (only 256, 67 and 56, respectively, for medicine, dentistry and pharmacy is an indicator of the extent of internationalisation in Turkey Impact of the Bologna Process in DEHEMS Countries Although the Bologna reform has had some impacts on medical disciplines in DEHEMS countries, no radical changes have been brought by Bologna in terms of duration, degrees and the contents for most programmes in this domain. One can say that medical disciplines in DEHEMS countries are retaining their classical traditions in terms of duration and degrees. In general, the greatest impact seems to be felt in the study programmes like promoting the introduction of new programmes in Italy and reform study programmes in the field of medicine in Germany. Country-specific details of the impact of the Bologna Process can be summarised as follows; 65 To obtain this number the authors of this section browsed through the web sites of all officially listed public universities {BMWF, 2010 #891}, private universities {Akkreditierungsrat, 2010 #893}, and universities of applied sciences {Oesterreichische Fachhochschul-Konferenz, 2010 #892} counting each institution providing at least one programme in the domain. Institutions with only interdisciplinary curricula were also counted (e.g. biomedical engineering). Many of these institutions provide not only studies leading to an academic degree but also other post-secondary education. However, some post-secondary courses or certificate programmes are found at other institutions not included here. 66 The statistics refer to two different sources. The time comparison data obtained from {BMWF_uni:data, 2010 #899} shows studies enrolled at public universities, i.e. students being enrolled in more than one study programme are counted several times and only public universities are covered. Consolidated data, i.e. where students enrolled in more than one study programme are counted proportionally and also other institutions are included, stems from {StatisticsAustria, 2009 #856} but is only available for the academic year 2007/08. The difference between the two databases is significant as is illustrated by the numbers for 2007/08 with 19,754 enrolled studies and 24,556 students, respectively. 199

201 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates In Germany, so far the classical medical disciplines (medicine, dentistry and pharmacy) have been immune to any change as a consequence of the Bologna reform. With the exception of a few master courses introduced as part of the lifelong learning programmes of universities, all classical medical disciplines still have the state exam for the degree. There is a discussion to also change these disciplines to the BA/MAstructure, but so far only one university has announced a plan to offer medicine as a Bachelor course together with a university from the Netherlands 67. At least in medicine and pharmacy, there is currently a debate about introducing the new Bachelor and Master courses. In pharmacy, the first Bachelor programmes are being developed. Still, holders of the pharmacy BA will not be allowed to work as chemists selling prescription drugs since the permit to do this still requires students to pass the state exam after five years of training. It is expected that the level of specialisation in the course will increase if the Bachelor/Masters system is introduced like for normal degrees. Possible additional subjects could be molecular medicine, biotechnology, nutritional science and business studies. Another development which can roughly be described as a consequence of the Bologna reform is the introduction of so-called "reform study programmes" in the field of medicine. These programmes are still "state-examined", but are more modern in their didactics. The pre-clinical and clinical phases are less separated: the students are learning case-based which means they are learning the chemical, biological, physical and anatomical basics with the help of case studies (e.g. a patient comes in with a stomach ache etc.). In Austria, in recent years significant changes have affected this domain. In the Universities Act of 2002 the medical faculties of the universities of Vienna, Graz and Innsbruck were granted additional autonomy and were transformed into medical universities 68. Although this process is not a formal part of the Bologna reform, it is thematically linked and occurred contemporaneously with the implementation of many Bologna-related changes to Austria s tertiary education. Even so, medicine and dental studies are exempt from Bologna. This means that although formally the studies are structured as a bachelor s with a subsequent master s programme, it is impossible to complete only the bachelor part since it is legally forbidden to grant a bachelor s degree 69. What also distinguishes medicine studies is that they amount to 360 ECTS credits altogether, thereby lasting 12 semesters as opposed to the average of 300 ECTS credits or 10 semesters (6+4) for other bachelor s and master s programmes. Pharmacy curricula, on the other hand, have not yet been transformed into a Bologna structure. Currently, the programme is only offered as a nine semester diploma study. In Italy, it should be noted that some aspects of the higher education system in this domain have been renewed. Compared to other professional domains, medicine and pharmacology have not been subject to any deep reorganisation brought about by a legal reform with major changes occurring in terms of the duration, degrees and contents of most programmes. The existing medicine and pharmacology programmes have not been reorganised. As already mentioned, they have been considered to be coherent with the professional domain and suitable to train students to become practitioners. Nevertheless, it has been recognised there was not adequate attention to some professions, some of which more have recently seen greater demand from the labour market. The Bologna Process has therefore impacted the medicine and 67 University of Oldenburg: 68 See ([Republic of Austria, 850]) 69 ([Kasparovsky, ]: p. 173; [Republic of Austria 850]) 200

202 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project pharmacology professional domain by promoting the introduction of new programmes emphasising professions such as biotechnology technician and researcher, herbalist, drugs scientific informant, quality control technician, or nutritionist. In Poland, the share of BA diplomas reaches 46.8% and MA diplomas 14.3%. The remaining 38.9% are diplomas of the long-cycle programme studies. It is worth noting that Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy are exempt from the Bologna reform, and are keeping 100% of diplomas of the long-cycle programmes. As in the other fields of HE programmes, implementation of the Bologna Process in Turkey involves intensive work in this domain. All faculties and departments in this domain participate in Bologna studies so they are developing their programmes in line with the Bologna principles. However, undergraduate medical education in Turkey lasts six years. Medical school/faculty graduates may choose to either work in a primary health care setting without specialisation or to specialise in family medicine or some other specialty. There are about 29,000 physicians without postgraduate professional training working in the national primary health care system (28% of all physicians). These physicians are called practitioners, rather than general practitioners (GP) or family physicians (FP), i.e., physicians with specialised training in family medicine/general practice. The qualifications in these study fields are prepared by working committees composed of deans and education experts. Programme outcomes with the learning outcomes of the courses will be required from each faculty/department in the near future. The curriculum is being converted into semester-based courses in many courses in the programmes, and national and ECTS credits are being allocated to the courses. The physical therapy 70 and rehabilitation programme and the pharmacy programme was credit-based already before Bologna; now a credit-based system is also present in medical and dentistry programmes in many universities. Bologna three-cycle degree systems are not yet implemented in this domain, except in the physical therapy field. Medical and dentistry education retain their one-tier degree structure as a six- and five-year programme consecutively. Graduates of the five-year dentistry programme are accepted as MSc graduates and may continue their studies directly for a PhD degree. The pharmacy programme was four years and has recently been developed as five years in line with the Bologna reform. The pharmacy programme is also a one-tier degree programme and in most disciplines graduates may be directly admitted to PhD programmes. In a few programmes a pharmacy programme graduate may continue their postgraduate studies in an MSc programme and then in a doctoral programme Transition to employment and first job In this chapter, the transition to employment and the characteristics of the first job of graduates of medicine in the six DEHEMS countries will be analysed and compared. First, the requirements to become a full member of the profession will be described. Also, the transition process is individualised or defined by national legislation and will be discussed. Second, the respective data of the HEGESCO and REFLEX projects will be interpreted. 70 Physical therapy and rehabilitation programme had already a three cycle degree system before Bologna namely bachelor (4years-240ECTS), masters (2years-120ECTS) and doctoral (4years-240ECTS) and this structure is retained. 201

203 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Certification Germany: Medical graduates can directly apply for their "approbation" after successfully passing the second (since the change brought by the study reform, before it was the third) state exam and hence are a full member of the profession. But at that point in time they cannot open their own practice. The public health insurance only accepts medical doctors with a finished specialisation (on average five years of work in a specific department of a hospital and passing an exam) like surgery, internal medicine or general medicine. A medical graduate without such a specialisation can only open a private practice which means that patients insured via the public health system must pay by themselves and obtain no refund from their insurance. Dentistry graduates can also apply for their approbation after successfully passing the second state exam. The graduates can then directly work as a dentist and open their own practice. There is no further education demanded to open one s one dental practice. But, of course, there are possibilities for further education like oral surgery and orthodontics. Some universities also offer special postgraduate courses for dentists. Pharmacy is the only subject in which a practical period is demanded following the last official exam. The second state exam marks the end of the study part. Afterwards, students have to complete 12 months of practical training: 6 months must be completed in a pharmacy and the other 6 months in a hospital, in the pharmaceutical industry, at a university or another research institute (always under the supervision of a fully-trained chemist) in order to apply for their approbation. Afterwards, they can work as a pharmacist/chemist and open their own pharmacy. Before October 2004 all medical graduates had to complete another 1.5 years of practical period after graduation to obtain the license as a medical doctor the so-called "Doctor in internship" (AiP - Arzt im Praktikum) phase. During this phase, medicine graduates were paid relative poorly: around 1,000 gross income per month but worked a great number of hours. In comparison: after abolition of the AiP graduates are directly employed as residents/assistant doctors and paid three times as much. It has to be kept in mind that due to the sample limit of CHE Alumni-Ranking Medicine only graduates with the earliest graduation in 1996 are included, which means those who could collect a maximum of four years of professional experience (without the calculation of a practical year). Accordingly, half of the graduates in human medicine (54%) reported being employed in their first job after graduation. The first employment of those graduates who started to work after the Doctor in Internship (Arzt im Praktikum/AiP) period looks like this: nine out of ten graduates (92%) worked full-time and nine out of ten (89%) had a limited-time contract, a further 10% had a permanent position or received the status of a civil servant. Only 0.5% were freelancers or independently working. Austria: There is no standardised transition process from medicine and pharmacy studies to the labour market in Austria. Despite this, the various phases of practical training and work experience provide opportunities for students and graduates to establish connections with the labour market. By carefully selecting institutions and fields of specialisation, students can not only find out about their preferences and pursue them accordingly. They also willingly or unwillingly design their curriculum vitae in a way that is likely to influence their job prospects or already recommend themselves in certain fields of employment. Although a compulsory practical training period is already implemented in the curricula in the form of clinical traineeships, the degree does not suffice to become a full member of the profession. After studying medicine in Austria, graduates need a certificate issued by the Austrian Medical Chamber to practise as a doctor. This certificate can either be permit to work as a medical specialist or a general practitioner. Both permits require a working period at accredited hospitals and a subsequent final exam organised by the 202

204 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Austrian Medical Chamber. To become a general practitioner medicine graduates have to gain experience as a Turnusarzt. After studying pharmacy in Austria graduates have to complete one year of additional education in a pharmacy as well as a subsequent examination conducted by the Austrian Chamber of Pharmacists to become a full member of the pharmacist profession. Further, five years of pharmaceutical work experience in a pharmacy is required to be legally entitled to lead a pharmacy. Graduates of dental studies become full members of the profession on completion of their studies and are entitled to practise as dentists (Zahnaerztegesetz, 6-7). As indicated above, the profession is embedded in the Austrian health care system where social insurance institutions play a major role. Poland: Programmes offered in the field of medicine lead to a degree of lekarz (physician), which is the equivalent of a magister degree (MA) in Poland. The right to practice medicine is acquired after completing a postgraduate internship and passing the State Medical Examination (Lekarski Egzamin Państwowy, LEP). Programmes offered in the fields of dentistry, pharmacy and medical analytics lead to a degree of lekarza-dentysty (dental practitioner), which is the equivalent of a magister degree (MA). The right to practise the profession of dental practitioner is obtained after completing the annual postgraduate internship and passing the dental state examination (Lekarsko-Dentystyczny Egzamin Państwowy, LDEP). No special certificates are needed to work as a medical analytic after graduation from studies in pharmacy and medical analytics. Programmes offered in the field of dental technology lead to a degree of BA (licencjat). No special certificates are needed to work as a dental technician after graduation from studies in dental technology. Programmes offered in the field of physiotherapy currently include programmes leading to two degrees: licencjat (the equivalent of a BA) after the first-cycle programme and magister (the equivalent of an MA) after the first-cycle programme. There are no further formal requirements to take a job as a physiotherapist. All rules for practising medicine are set by the Law on the Professions of Doctor and Dentist. The postgraduate paid internship lasts 13 months. Until the LEP was passed, a physician had a limited license to practice medicine (in practice, they could not alone lead the process of medical diagnostics, issue prescriptions etc.). The title of medical specialist in a particular medical speciality is achieved upon completion of training lasting typically 5-6 years. Until 1999, a two-tier system of specialisation was in force. After two to three years of training, a doctor received the title "doctor of the speciality", such as a doctor of internal medicine. If he/she decided to continue their training, they could obtain the title of "medical specialist" of a given speciality, such as medical specialist in internal medicine (a so-called second degree specialisation ). It was necessary to have a specialisation of the second degree in order to become the head of a hospital ward or to assume other kinds of positions within the healthcare system. Currently, a one-tier system is in operation. It is possible to obtain the title of a specialist in the course of specialisation training typically lasting 5-6 years. Currently, physicians may specialise in 40 main areas and then 28 detailed specialisations (after undergoing a specialisation in a main area). Italy The national legislation governs the transition to the labour market for most professions. Medical doctors, dentists and pharmacists are required to pass an exam and join the national associations to practice. Qualifying examinations are run by universities. Nursing and caring profession degrees qualify graduates to join their own association and practice professions. Graduates from remaining recently instituted programmes have free access to the labour market. It should be underlined that most health services in Italy are delivered by public entities. National law requires public organisations to arrange public selections for any available job position. Graduates from this domain are, therefore, often required to do further exams to be selected for such job positions. 203

205 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Turkey After six years of medical education, with the last year being an internship, Turkish doctors take a nationwide examination to enter the residency programmes. The Specialty Exam is held twice a year; the number of residents to be admitted is announced in a booklet distributed by the Student Selection and Placement Centre. This standard examination allocates them to a residency programme according to their exam score. After the announcement of the results, the physicians apply to the relevant faculties/training hospitals of the Ministry of Health and are appointed as residents of that medical faculty/training hospital of the Ministry of Health. Those physicians who do not pass the examination but want to specialise are granted a practitioner s position in the national primary health care system by the Ministry of Health. Completing the residency programme requires the preparation of a thesis and success in a two-step examination (written and oral). The residency training scheme may involve variations in different universities and governmental training hospitals across Turkey. Also there is no definitive transition process from higher education to the labour market in Turkey. For instance, after six years of medical education, medical school graduates may choose to either work in a primary health care setting without specialisation or to specialise in family medicine or some other specialty. Entrance to a specialisation programme in a certain field, i.e. ophthalmology, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, is made through a nationwide exam for physicians; successful physicians are appointed as residents in medical faculties or in training hospitals of the Ministry of Health. The duration of specialisation programmes may vary, i.e. the obstetrics and gynaecology specialisation programme is 4 years, while for plastic surgery it is 6 years. After completion of this specialisation programme a specialist may open their own private practice, work in government/private hospitals or continue studies in a university as an academic. A specialist working in a government hospital or in a university may additionally open their own practice. Graduates from faculties of dentistry can work in different areas. First, this is quite an individualised way; they can work in their private practice or in some private healthcare institutions. Secondly, dentists can work in public institutions depending on the Ministry of Health or in faculties of dentistry and other public institutions. Another way for dentists to work is in para-medical areas like commercial firms that produce and sell products for oral healthcare or medical devices. After graduation, students who have completed their education successfully can continue their academic career by attending master and doctorate programmes. Slovenia After completion of the study programme, students have to continue with a specialisation which usually lasts 4 years or more and is obligatory. Specialisation is regulated by the Medical Chamber of Slovenia. As a public authority the Chamber plans, monitors and supervises the apprenticeship, specialisation and other forms of postgraduate professional training to its members and provides a qualification for appointment and appoints mentors. After completion of the study programme in general medicine, students can be employed as practitioners. This apprenticeship is implemented as part of a programme prescribed by the Ministry of Health and regulated and supervised by the Medical Chamber. Every practitioner works under the supervision of a mentor. Apprenticeship is accomplished with a professional exam which is a condition to enrol in the specialisation. 204

206 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Students of dental medicine also have to complete an apprenticeship which lasts one year and is under the authority of the Ministry of Health. The apprenticeship finishes with a professional exam which is the last step before becoming a registered dentist Search duration The search duration of graduates in medicine for their first job is half of what it is in all domains, it stands at 2.1 months. However, the duration differs from country to country. Countries with the longest search durations are Slovenia and Turkey, where graduates search for their first job on average for three and a half months. Polish and German graduates spend the shortest time on job hunting among the DEHEMS countries, namely only 0.9 of a month in Germany and 1.4 months in Poland. Still in all countries graduates from the field of medicine usually spend much less time job searching than in any other domain. Table 5.30: Search duration of graduates in the field of medicine DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Mean (months) SD Medicine/All domains Mean (ratio) 0,517 0,991 0,406 0,599 0,694 0,751 0,433 0,531 0,521 SD 0,545 0,784 0,374 0,524 0,668 0,906 0,560 0,675 0,620 Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. 205

207 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Table 5.31: Ways graduates find work in the field of medicine DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Through advertisement in 4,8 newspaper 2,9 2,9 4,6 3,5 6,9 3,2 7,6 6,8 Through public empl. ag. 2,5 1,5 0,0 0,9 0,0 4,4 12,9 2,0 2,2 Through private empl. 0,6 ag. 1,5 0,0 0,9 0,0 0,5 0,0 2,0 1,6 Through the Internet 2,0 0,0 4,8 3,2 0,0 0,0 3,2 3,2 2,8 Contacted employer on 35,1 own initiative 67,7 49,5 19,9 37,9 36,8 6,5 30,1 31,5 Approached by employer 12,9 10,3 11,4 13,9 0,0 13,7 22,6 11,2 11,7 Through work placement 7,0 during higher education 1,5 10,5 7,9 13,8 5,9 3,2 12,9 11,3 Through family, friends 11,5 or acquaintances 8,8 8,6 16,7 20,7 6,4 16,1 12,1 11,9 Through help of higher 7,0 education institution 2,9 2,9 11,6 13,8 2,5 22,6 7,5 7,4 Set up my own business 2,0 0,0 0,0 5,1 0,0 0,5 3,2 1,2 1,4 Other 12,6 1,5 9,5 15,3 10,3 16,2 6,5 10,0 10,7 Through previous work 2,1 1,5 0,0 0,0 0,0 6,4 0,0 0,2 0,8 Total Medicine/All domains Through advertisement in newspaper 0,398 0,174 0,213 0,654 0,308 0,530 0,266 0,536 0,505 Through public empl. ag. 0,596 1,235 0,000 0,479 0,000 0,599 3,154 0,453 0,491 Through private empl. ag. 0,418 1,073 0,000 0,333 0,000 0,671 0,000 0,418 0,426 Through the Internet 0,282 0,000 0,614 0,736 0,000 0,000 0,191 0,393 0,366 Contacted employer on own initiative 1,572 2,628 2,155 0,977 1,035 1,520 0,519 1,487 1,509 Approached by employer 1,199 0,780 1,030 1,286 0,000 1,070 2,632 1,070 1,106 Through work placement during higher education 1,189 0,190 1,220 1,565 3,658 0,834 1,063 1,284 1,281 Through family, friends or acquaintances 0,576 0,650 0,922 0,716 1,066 0,378 0,485 0,779 0,707 Through help of higher education institution 1,383 0,476 0,790 1,321 5,560 0,907 4,814 1,373 1,379 Set up my own business 0,682 0,000 0,000 1,020 0,000 0,327 1,538 0,803 0,737 Other 1,749 0,392 0,578 1,513 12,023 2,059 6,143 2,058 1,928 Through previous work 1,574 0,826-0,000 0,000 1,464-0,561 1,086 Total 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Note: Each number in the top part of the table shows share of a given way of finding job in the population of graduates in employment they sum up to 100. In the bottom part is a ratio of a share for business to the general population showing specifics of channels of finding job for business domain graduates. 206

208 HU TR IT PL PT EE LT SP AT DE SI NO UK FI CZ NL BE FR TOTAL Per cent of answers Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project The way most often used by medicine graduates to find employment is by contacting employers on own initiative (35%). Often they are also approached by an employer (12.8%), they use family, friends or acquaintances (11.5%) or other ways to get a job (12.5%). Especially high percentages of graduates finding a job by contacting an employer on their own initiative are seen in Austria (67.6%) and Germany (49.5%), while in Turkey the share is very low at just 6%. Turkish graduates more often (12.9%) use public employment services to get a job, however this way is not significantly used in the DEHEMS other countries. Even more often (22.6%) Turkish graduates are approached by employers and become employed in that way. For this way of finding employment, they have the highest share among DEHEMS countries, with the lowest being noted in Poland where none of the interviewed graduates was approached by an employer. Finding employment through friends and family is far more often used in Poland, Italy and Turkey than in Germany, Austria and Slovenia. Other ways of getting employed were most often mentioned by Slovenian and Italian students. If we compare the ways of finding employment in the field of medicine with other domains we can note that medicine graduates more often find work by contacting an employer on their own initiative (except in Turkey); with the help of the HEI (except in Germany and Austria); through previous work (except in Germany and Austria) and in other ways. On the other side, graduates of medicine less often use private and public employment agencies (except in Austria and Turkey); family and friends; the Internet or set up their own business (except Turkey) to get employed. In all countries, over 70 percent of graduates reported they are satisfied with their current work. These shares are the highest in Slovenia and in Germany, but the lowest in Turkey. The difference in this respect is not very high between countries (Turkey is an exception in that only 58% of graduates are very satisfied with their job) (Figure 5.39). Figure 5.38: Satisfaction with current work, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question F13 (HEGESCO), F13 (REFLEX): How satisfied are you with your current work? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Very dissatisfied'' to 5 = ''Very satisfied''. One surprising result in terms of the quality of employment is that only 41% of graduates think that their job offers good career prospects to a high extent. This ratio is lowest in Germany (20%) and highest in the UK (78%). 207

209 DE IT PT TR AT SP HU LT FI NL UK EE CZ BE NO FR SI PL TOTAL Per cent of answers PT DE HU PL AT SI FI BE IT NO LT NL EE TR FR SP CZ UK TOTAL Per cent of answers Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Figure 5.39: Good career prospects, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question J1Bf (HEGESCO), J1Bf (REFLEX): Please indicate how important the following job characteristics are to you personally (good career prospects) and to what extent they actually apply to your current work situation? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent'' (in section B apply to current work). Another indicator of the quality of employment is the level of job security described by graduates (Figure 5.40). In this respect, one can easily say that 69% of the working graduates reported that job security is very high in medical sciences (Figure 5.41). Figure 5.40: High job security, by country (in percent) Country Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Question J1Bb (HEGESCO, J1Bb (REFLEX): Please indicate how important the following job characteristics are to you personally (high job security) and to what extent they actually apply to your current work situation? Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent'' (in section B apply to current work). More than 70 percent of graduates from Italy would decide to choose the same study programme again if they had a chance and also other DEHEMS countries have similar figures from 61% up. Those who are 208

210 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project the most successful are allocated to higher education institutions in accordance with their ranking. Therefore, students may not be studying in the departments they actually prefer. Graduates from the HEGESCO and REFLEX countries also reported if they had been included in follow-up training at their work. Over three-quarters of graduates from Slovenia, Austria and Germany had taken a work-related training or course in the last year. But in Turkey less than 50 percent of graduates said they had obtained additional trainings or courses. Table 5.32: Study programme as a basis for starting work: medicine vs. all domains DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Medicine (%) All (%) Medicine/All (ratio) 1,091 0,899 0,911 1,195 1,036 1,152 1,674 1,322 1,271 Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. 50% of medicine graduates throughout all DEHEMS countries answered that their programme has been a good basis for starting work to a high or very high extent. The lowest result can be noted in Slovenia (38%) and the highest in Turkey (61%). These results are more or less comparable with all domains results with the deviation of 5%. Only in Turkey can be noted quite big difference between medicine and all domains, where medicine graduates are far more likely to perceive the programme as good basis for starting work than graduates from other domains. Table 5.33: Utilised knowledge and skills in current work: medicine vs. all domains DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Medicine (%) 85,1 79,1 86, ,9 89,3 81,3 86,8 86,3 All (%) 70,9 75,1 72,7 69,4 66,8 71,6 69,2 70,2 70,4 Medicine/All (ratio) 1,201 1,053 1,189 1,195 1,255 1,248 1,174 1,238 1,227 Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Graduates of medicine more often (85%) believe that in their current work they utilise the knowledge and skills they gained in the programme when compared to all domains. The highest percentage of such opinions is noted in Slovenia with 89% and the lowest in Austria with 79% Lifelong learning More than half (58%) of the interviewed graduates of medicine perceive their programme as a good basis for further learning on the job, which is slightly higher than across the domains where the average stands at 50%. The biggest share of medicine graduates believing the programme is a good basis for further learning on the job is noted in Poland and Turkey (above 67%). 209

211 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Table 5.34: Study programme as a good basis for further learning on the job: medicine vs. all domains DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Medicine (%) All (%) Medicine/All (ratio) 1,155 1,155 1,225 1,091 1,054 1,105 1,859 1,260 1,236 Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. 81% of graduates in medicine had work-related training in the past 12 months in their first job. We see the highest results in Austria and Germany (above 90%) and the lowest in Poland and Turkey where only around 70% of graduates had had work-related training in the past 12 months. Comparing the results of this field with the results across all domains, we can conclude that in medicine more graduates have workrelated training than in other domains. Table 5.35: Work-related training/course in the past 12 months in the first job: medicine vs. all domains DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Medicine (%) All (%) Medicine/All (ratio) 1,343 1,365 1,374 1,575 1,048 1,176 1,425 1,232 1,264 Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data Higher education management perspectives on graduates professional careers synthesis of the DEHEMS interviews Understanding of career success In the field of medicine, although the graduates have different career paths in a broader perspective, many graduates work in their professional field. On the other hand, graduates of medicine begin with their specialist medical training after the state examination generally in all DEHEMS countries. Other a small share finds employment for example in the pharmaceutical industry etc. However, the majority of doctors still work in practice but they combine this work with pedagogic activities and/or research, which can also mean the peak of their career. Some interviewees mentioned that career success also means when doctors become directors of a hospital or health centre when the study programme matches their professional occupation. On the other hand, in an example from a Turkish interview around 10% of medicine graduates are successful in the TUS exam (Examination for Speciality in Medicine) and continue their education to be a specialist. The rest of them start working as a practitioner with obligatory service organised by the Ministry of Health. Therefore, success in one s career does not have a single definition because one s career path is not very much in the graduates hands. Diversification of views The purpose of this section is to summarise the opinions of the HEI s representatives with regard to the career success of the graduates or their opinion concerning when a graduate is successful in his/her professional career in the field of medicine. The analysis of the obtained answers from DEHEMS countries shows that there is no firm agreement on the understanding of career success. There are some reasons underlying the different perspectives about career success in the field of medicine. The main reason is that health care professionals work in different positions (clinics, research, private, public etc.) and they need different competencies and skills to be successful in their profession. 210

212 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project The interviewees provided a range of various understandings of career success. A representative of a Turkish higher education institution sees career success as when graduates can work where they wish to, this is career success. In medicine if they can work scientifically, if they can continue research, this also means a successful career path. Despite the varieties of opinions on career success, it was still possible to identify several key dimensions which are elaborated further. Some interviewees define career success in terms of the time needed to enter the labour market: If one can reach his/her career aim even early, it can be fully accepted as success (from Turkey). The aim may change from one person to another. In the medical field there are different options for a graduate. They may continue their studies in basic medical sciences (preclinical area), choose one of the clinical areas and be a specialist and then work in government hospitals as a clinician or universities as a clinician and teaching staff and researcher at the same time, or after being a specialist they may do private practice. Success depends on finding the proper path within the domain Generally, there is an agreement regarding the fact that the study programmes do not prepare graduates for a single occupational profile but there are varieties within the domain. An Austrian interviewee focused on flexibility as A university is something particular. It is not only professional training. So we also put a lot of emphasis on conveying a basic scientific education. So the students know how to acquire information with new media, how to read a study, how to conduct a study themselves. One German interviewee described flexibility in this way: There is an attempt to implement all these aspects in the study programme to prepare students for their professional life. This also means that they can cope with these difficulties. A successful graduate deals well with several stakeholders There is no uniform information from the interviews about the link between career success and job satisfaction in the field of medicine. One German interviewee, for example, remarked about satisfaction: All professional expectations should be fulfilled. Another factor is that graduates meet the requirements of the patients, the employers, the health insurance institute and last but not least of politics and society. This is an extremely difficult balancing act in many directions. Also a Slovenian interviewee described career success as: The graduate is successful if he is satisfied with his every day work this is fundamental and is not connected with the position he occupies. Therefore, it can be concluded that the satisfaction of the graduates, patients and employers is an important acceptable indicator of career success The role of HEIs in the future professional activities of graduates The clear mission of HEIs in this domain is to cultivate a good doctor The majority of interviewees across the DEHEMS countries agrees that study programmes in the field of medicine traditionally provide the specific knowledge needed in the profession. Therefore, the programmes have a clear ambition; is to train students to become doctors. An interviewee from Germany says The aim of higher education in medicine the first degree must be to educate a doctor. Similarly, an Italian interviewee expressed something similar: The university programme shall provide students with the theoretical and practical knowledge necessary for being responsible professionals when they finish their studies. So one can say that it is commonly accepted by the interviewees from DEHEMS countries that in comparison to other professional domains like Political Science and Sociology where students are educated for a range of different professional positions, students are trained to perform their specific pro- 211

213 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates fessions. Similarly, unlike some other disciplines, graduates end up working in a position related to their university education and do not have a hard time finding a job in DEHEMS countries. Medicine is a tightly regulated field of study to a great extent in all DEHEMS countries. As stated by an Italian interviewee: The planning and updating of current programmes is very much dependent on legal constraints. Similarly a Polish interviewee said: The range of subjects is strictly defined by Polish legislation. In addition, very limited room for manoeuvre exists. In addition to the requirements set by governments, other requirements are also taken into account in different counties. A Polish interviewee stressed that programmes of studies are regulated according to European Frames of Qualifications and a Turkish interviewee stated that the medical curriculum is developed in accordance with the requirements of the Turkish Association of Medical Doctors. Despite the regulated nature of the curriculum in the field, modernisation attempts are being made in some countries. For example, in 2002 Austrian universities completely redesigned the old system of the classical theoretical training method. One of the Austrian interviewees explained the aim as to enforce more practical experience and psychological aspects. This leads to the training of more appropriate graduates to meet the high quality demand in the field. As a natural consequence of being a regulated field, the core curriculum is the same on the national level in DEHEMS countries. For example, in Germany core curricula (new Order Regulating Licences to Practise Medicine) have been introduced since A Turkish interviewee stressed that the medical curriculum includes more or less the same topics in all medical faculties; the difference comes from the different teaching techniques. Curricula are not very flexible, most of the courses are compulsory and only a limited number of courses are elective. The extent varies between countries, some countries are relatively stricter in this respect, for example in Turkey there are 90% of obligatory subjects and 10% elective. Enhancing the traditional focus of the medicine programme There is development in this field in terms of enhancing the traditional focus of training students as medical doctors. First of all, recently there is a strong emphasis on increasing the competencies of graduates and applying these competencies in the relationship with the patient. The importance of soft skills is emphasised in the medicine education in some countries like Germany and Austria. One German interviewee pointed out that Social competencies are taught intensively by the learning format KIT (communication, interaction, ability to work in a team. The interviewee underlined that psycho-social competencies are highly important for those graduates who have contact with patients. A similar aim of increasing the soft skills of graduates was expressed by an Austrian interviewee: For example, among students problems are encountered when it comes to soft-skills (communication and presentation skills). A step in that direction was the introduction of lessons from Communication Technology or Savoir Vivre into the canon of programme choices. A Turkish representative also said that However there is a tendency of introducing new teaching techniques in all medical faculties within the limits of their infrastructure. This approach is mainly used to give graduates generic competencies such as team working, self-learning ability, ethics etc. which are believed to be important factors in the smooth transition of graduates into professional life in both the short and long term. The need to further develop an international orientation One can say that the international orientation of teaching staff and students is very high in this field. Students of human medicine are traditionally highly mobile in most DEHEMS countries. There is support for students international experience, especially within the framework of the Erasmus programme. The ma- 212

214 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project jority of HE institutions in this field support the international orientation of their students within the framework of the Erasmus programme and recognise the credits gained abroad. It is a common view stated by the German interviewees that about 30% of all students of medicine go abroad at least once during their studies. Medicine is the subject with the highest rate of international mobility 30 percent of all students of this HEI have stayed abroad for some time during their study time, e.g. in the framework of the practical year (PJ, Praktisches Jahr) or one or two clinical electives (Famulatur). One interviewee points out that the modularised system of the field enables mobility. Similarly, internationalisation via the Erasmus programme is very common in Poland, Italy and Turkey. Another currently popular way of internationalisation in Turkey is summer practices abroad. The internationalisation of curricula itself for example as a result of the Bologna Process was not mentioned by any interviewees, so one can conclude that internationalisation in this field is mostly realised through the the mobility of students. The importance of a practical orientation: practical experience in medicine is the main component of the profession and is inseparable from theory The practical orientation and practical parts of the study programme are the main parts of the programmes in all DEHEMS countries. Medical studies must due to their very nature give access to many practical sessions in all DEHEMS countries. Since theory and practice are inseparable, practical experience in medicine is the main component of the profession. Due to these facts, a very strong emphasis is given to practical training by the interviewees. One interviewee from Germany stated that The aim was and still is to improve the practical orientation and the practical parts within the study programme. Curricula in the medicine field in DEHEMS countries contain a heavy practical component. For example, in Germany the study programme is scientifically oriented and theoretical in the first stage and afterwards it is practice oriented with entry to the clinical part. In Poland, the HEI implements a mandatory programme of practical experience. In Turkey, 70% of the teaching/learning hours at least must include practical experience. Similarly, it is stated that in Italy Students interesting in pursuing further education and in acquiring further practice can opt to serving as Guest Doctors (generally for 1 year). In this year of practice they can work at a hospital and are followed by senior staff. Despite budget cuts, research for students can best be conducted in university hospitals The result of the interviews show it is a characteristic of higher education in the domain of medicine that research is undertaken in university hospitals. Another result in this respect is that student participation in research activities is limited in many DEHEMS countries. Students often take part in research projects which are run by academic staff. It was pointed out by an Italian interviewee Student participation in research projects is limited to those students who decide to face the challenge of an experimental dissertation. Another issue raised during the interviews is the financial difficulties that have a negative effect on research activities. An Austrian interviewee emphasised that The budgets of universities are shut down beyond recognition, this is actually very dangerous. Limited co-operation with private employers especially in this field Since medical graduates most often find employment in state-run hospitals, there is limited co-operation with private employers especially in this field. Due to the fact that the ministry of health is the main employer in some countries, there is no contact with private employers. But in some countries, there is cooperation with other stakeholders to a certain extent. For example, a Turkish interviewee pointed out: That department also centrally develops the medical curriculum in accordance with the requirements of the Turkish Association of Medical Doctors. Similarly, a Polish interviewee explained the above mentioned facts as Directors of hospitals and health maintenance organisations are invited as guest speakers to the HEI. Private employers visits are much rarer. 213

215 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Future developmental needs Despite the variety of developmental needs emphasised during the interviews, which are particularly country-specific, the most emphasised ones can be listed as follows; change and modernisation of the content of the curriculum, increasing scientific skills and competencies, new teaching methods and financial difficulties. Especially the first two were emphasised by almost all of the DEHEMS country representatives. Increase curriculum interdisciplinarity and flexibility within the existing tradition As stressed before, medicine is a regulated field of study to a great extent in all DEHEMS countries and as a result the content of the curriculum is also tightly regulated. The need to change the content of the curriculum in a more flexible way is one of the main concerns voiced during the interviews. This fact is expressed by an Austrian interviewee as currently, the programme is very close to a school system so we would like to re-introduce more academic freedom and flexibility. The issue of adaptation of a new curriculum is pointed to by a German interviewee as The curriculum can always be improved and adapted to new developments. As far as the question of the ways in which the programmes have to change is concerned, few interviewees pointed out modification of the content to gain an interdisciplinary character. In the words of one German interviewee this interdisciplinary character is extremely important so that students learn how to deal with members of other occupational groups such as nursing staff, physical therapists or speech therapists. Increasing graduates scientific skills and social competencies As stressed before, during the interviews there was a strong emphasis on increasing the competencies of graduates and applying those competencies to the relationship with the patient. In connection with this, there was a consensus among the interviewees on increasing the social competencies of graduates. The words of one Polish interviewee summarise this need very well Doctors today are given all the knowledge they need to become doctors, except the most essential. He continued: Likewise, students should receive not only a purely methodological education which stresses the knowledge of the human anatomy and medical processes, but a greater toolset of interpersonal skills and greater communication skills, required in the least to work with patients. Similarly, the need to develop the scientific skills of graduates arose during the interviews. In order to increase the ability of graduates to understand scientific studies and analyse the results in a critical manner, the need to develop courses to train the scientific skills and competencies of students was mentioned during the interviews. Introduction of new teaching methods and continuing medical education The implementation of modern approaches to teaching and learning as well as continuing medical education are indicated as one of the major developmental needs in the medicine field. This need was expressed by a Polish interviewee as That which can be done within the outside regulations imposed is a change in the approach of teachers to the subjects they teach. In the case of many subjects, openness to new methods of transferring knowledge would serve them well. This is occurring, however we would like it to occur at a faster pace. Similarly, Slovenian and Turkish interviewees also pointed out the need to implement new teaching methods in this field. The need for further or continuous medical education is another point raised by the German and Turkish interviewees in particular. A German interviewee wishes to design medical studies to be more academic and to shift certain disciplinary problems to further education. This would thereby reduce 214

216 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project the comprehensive disciplines to the benefit of the integrated development of competencies and personality. Persisting allocation of funding: reducing the number of students or increasing resources It was stated during the interviews that an important problem in this field is the financing of medical services and medical education. Due to the insufficiency of the allocated funds, there is a danger that medical doctors will not be able to use the most advanced techniques and this will cause lower job satisfaction than expected. As a Polish interviewee put it: It appears that there are actually two medicines. One is the academic world of the most advanced solutions known in the world, the other is the reality involving stringent financial constraints. Similarly, the insufficiency of the funds allocated to medical education is another concern. This concern was expressed by an Austrian interviewee as We need either to reduce the number of students or increase the resources massively. There are also country-specific developmental needs. Improvements in relations with the alumni and the establishment of career centres seem to be a developmental need specific to Turkey Conclusion The DEHEMS countries reveal some differences in terms of the gender differences, family background and student mobility. Regarding gender differences, statistical data from the DEHEMS national reports show that the share of women in all study programmes in this domain is very high in DEHEMS countries. In addition to the high proportion of women in the field, another striking fact is that in some countries the number of women in the field has also increased in recent years. Studies on the determinants of education show that family background is one of the important factors when it comes to access to schooling. Although there is a big variation among the HEGESCO and REFLEX countries with respect to the highest education level of the parents of the students of medicine, a higher education of the father does play a significant role in the medicine domain. In 15 out of the 17 countries, the ratio of all students of medicine who have an academic family background is over 30%. The HEGESCO and REFLEX countries do not constitute a uniform bloc in terms of study-related work experience. Ratios of those graduates who had a study-related work experience during their study for four DEHEMS countries, namely Italy, Germany, Slovenia and Austria, are well above the HEGESCO and REFLEX countries average. 84% of the graduates reported they had taken part in one or more work placement/internships as part of their study programme. This ratio is over 68% in all DEHEMS countries, except Italy. Data on the mobility of medicine students from HEGESCO and REFLEX countries shows that student mobility during the period of study is very high in some DEHEMS countries like Germany (46%), Poland (42%) and Austria (30%). The other striking fact about mobility is that mobility during the study time period is much higher than mobility after graduation. In terms of programme characteristics, one common fact among the DEHEMS countries is that the graduates reported their programme was vocationally-oriented. Although there is a large variation among the countries in the extent to which graduates reported the programme was vocationally-oriented, 56% of the graduates reported that it was vocationally-oriented to a very high extent. The vocational orientation of higher education programmes ranges from 15% in Austria to 81% in the Netherlands. Surprisingly, in some countries where the vocational orientation of education is emphasised, the share of graduates report- 215

217 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates ing their programme was vocationally oriented to a very high extent was low (15% for Austria and 25% for Germany). In relation to programme characteristics, the results of the HEGESCO and REFLEX surveys indicate that medical education in the surveyed countries is very demanding but not as academically prestigious at the same level. Although there are variations between countries, in general graduates of medical sciences think that their programmes are vocationally-oriented. There are some differences in higher education in medical sciences between different countries. In that respect, the survey results show that neither HEGESCO nor REFLEX countries can be considered as a homogenous group. The methods used in medicine programmes most often mentioned are lectures (4.0), theories and paradigms (3.62), the teacher as the main source of information and multiple-choice exams (3.09). There are also some differences in characteristics among the countries in the domain of medicine. Across all six DEHEMS countries, graduates of medicine quite often ( ) see their programme as a good basis for personal development, for performing current work tasks and for starting work. In terms of the modes of teaching and learning, according to the assessment of the graduates most emphasis is given to group assignments and written assignments to a large extent. Almost half of all graduates reported a strong emphasis on group assignments and similarly 59% of graduates emphasised written assignments. Therefore, one can conclude that although there are variations among the countries, traditional lecturing and multiple-choice assessment are not the main modes of teaching and assessment methods in the field of medicine. DEHEMS countries fit this picture to a large extent, but Poland and Turkey are exceptions in the sense that the figures reported by the graduates for multiple-choice exam are above the sample average. Concerning the number of students in the field, another key fact is that the numbers of students in this domain have increased in Turkey and Germany. Germany and Poland have the highest number of students among DEHEMS countries. Although the Bologna reform has some impacts on medical disciplines in DEHEMS countries, no radical changes have been brought by Bologna in terms of duration, degrees and contents for most programmes in this domain. One can say that medical disciplines in DEHEMS countries retain their classical tradition in terms of duration and degrees. In general, the greatest impact seems to be felt in the study programmes like promoting the introduction of new programmes in Italy and reform study programmes in the field of medicine in Germany. One can say that the transition to employment is relatively quick in this field. The search duration of graduates in medicine for their first job is half of what it is across all domains, and stands at 2.1 months. However, the duration differs from country to country. Countries with the longest search durations are Slovenia and Turkey, where graduates search for their first job on average for three and a half months. If we compare the ways of finding employment in the field of medicine with other domains, we see that medicine graduates more often find work by contacting an employer on their own initiative (except in Turkey), with the help of the HEI (except in Germany and Austria), through previous work (except in Germany and Austria) and in other ways. On the other side, graduates of medicine less often use private and public employment agencies (except in Austria and Turkey), family and friends, the Internet or set up their own business (except Turkey) to get employed. 216

218 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Satisfaction with work is also relatively high in this field. In all countries, over 50 percent of the graduates reported they are satisfied with their current work. These shares are the highest in Slovenia and in Germany, but the lowest in Turkey. The difference in this respect is not very high between the countries (Turkey is an exception as only 53% of graduates there are very satisfied with their job). Although high earnings are indicated as one of the characteristics of the job by the majority of graduates, there is a big variation among the countries where the share of graduates indicating this fact ranges between 39% and 92%. Those who are the most successful are allocated to higher education institutions in accordance with their ranking. Therefore, students may not be studying in the departments they actually prefer. Graduates from the HEGESCO and REFLEX countries also reported if they had been included in follow-up training at their work. 50% of medicine graduates across all DEHEMS countries answered that their programme has been a good basis for starting work to a high or very high extent. Graduates of medicine more often (85%) believe that in their current work they utilise the knowledge and skills they gained in their programme when compared to all domains. There is a diversity of understanding about what the career success of graduates means for the representatives of HEIs of medical sciences. Some interviewees saw it through very subjective dimensions as to whether one is satisfied in the workplace or not, while others defined it through different dimensions such as the duration of employment, success in a professional exam or the ability to deal well with different stakeholders (patients and administration). However, it can be tentatively suggested that there is a strong link between these dimensions. Although graduates of the medicine domain have different career opportunities in the field of medicine, the lion s share of graduates work in their own professional field. But it is difficult to say what are the appropriate professional destinations that would match the study programme. The majority of interviewees across the DEHEMS countries agrees that study programmes in the field of medicine traditionally provide the specific knowledge needed in the profession. So one can say that it was commonly accepted by the interviewees from DEHEMS countries that, in comparison to other professional domains like Political Science and Sociology where students are educated for a range of different professional positions, students are trained to perform their specific professions. Similarly, unlike some other disciplines, graduates end up working in a position related to their university education and do not have a hard time finding a job in DEHEMS countries. Medicine is a tightly regulated field of study to a great extent in all DEHEMS countries. As a natural consequence of being a regulated field, the core curriculum is the same on the national level in DEHEMS countries. Despite the regulated nature of the curriculum in the field, there are modernisation attempts in some countries. There is development in this field in terms of enhancing the traditional focus on training students as medical doctors. First of all, recently there is a strong emphasis on increasing the competencies of graduates and applying these competencies in the relationship with the patient. One can say that the international orientation of teaching staff and students is very high in this field. Students of human medicine are traditionally highly mobile in most DEHEMS countries. The practical orientation and practical parts within the study programme are the main parts of the programmes in all DEHEMS countries. 217

219 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Medical studies must due to their very nature give access to many practical sessions. As a result, a very strong emphasis was given by the interviewees to practical training. Since medical graduates most often find employment in state-run hospitals, there is limited co-operation with private employers especially in this field. Since the ministry of health is the main employer in some countries, contacts with private employers are very rare. Due to differences in the structure of DEHEMS countries as well as the special characteristics of the HEI institutions, the priorities of the DEHEMS countries are not exactly the same. Therefore, there is a wide spectrum of answers including the aim to facilitate the employability of women and increase the physical capacity and infrastructure of education. Despite the variety of developmental needs stressed during the interviews, the most emphasised ones can be listed as follows: change and modernisation of the content of the curriculum, increasing scientific skills and competencies, new teaching methods and financial challenges. Especially the first two were emphasised by almost all the DEHEMS country representatives. 218

220 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Gabriela Grotkowska, Leszek Wincenciak, Tomasz Gajderowicz. 5.5 SCIENCE Introduction The professional domain of Science contains different fields of study in the countries involved in the DEHEMS project. In all of these project countries, Science domain study programmes include the following fields of study (according to the ISCED classification): Life Sciences (42), Physical sciences (44), Mathematics and statistics (46) and Computing (48). The programmes most commonly offered belong to the fields of: biology, biochemistry, astronomy and space sciences, physics, chemistry, geology, meteorology mathematics, statistics, and computer sciences. In this domain synthesis chapter, information on the socio-biographic background of the students and graduates in the study fields of Science in the DEHEMS countries will be described and analysed. Study conditions and provisions in these countries will be compared. An important part of this chapter will be devoted to the transition of graduates to employment and the characteristics of their first jobs. The basis for this domain synthesis was the six national domain reports of the participating countries. As statistical material, data from the HEGESCO and REFLEX projects will be used and analysed. In some cases, where appropriate, data from the Eurostat Labour Force Survey and OECD educational data will also be used. In the domain of Science, similarly to other domains analysed in the DEHEMS project, the international research team conducted 36 interviews with HE experts. The group of interviewees varied widely and included people with different backgrounds, experience and positions within the national HE systems. Generally, these were members of academic staff with significant teaching experience, members of HE management and career centres experts. Most of them represented HE management at the level of faculty (dean, vice-dean), which means they were usually both HE managers and academic staff members with extensive teaching experience The interviewees in the domain of Science were mainly selected from among public higher education institutions. One of the key features of the domain of Science is its strong internal diversification. The study process in Science subdomains differs not only due to the specifics of particular disciplines, but also differences in labour market conditions. The interviewees represented four subdomains of Science: Life Sciences (42), Physical Sciences (44), Mathematics and Statistics (46) and Computing (48). The structure of the sample varied between the countries. All in all, the research team conducted 22 interviews with representatives of Life Sciences (biology, chemistry, and biotechnology), 8 interviews with experts in HE in Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics and 6 in Computing Science. 219

221 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Socio-demographic statistical overview Number of graduates The number of graduates of the Science domain for the six DEHEMS countries is shown in Table 5.36 below. As can be seen from the OECD data, the numbers are quite different for the various countries, even if we make a correction for the total population of graduates or population of a country. At the bottom of Table 5.36 we see that the share of the Science domain in the total graduates population remains quite stable over time and for Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Turkey in general it does not exceed 10%. A notable difference can, however, be observed for Austria and Germany with significantly higher shares in the range of 13 to 16.5%. Table 5.36: Number of graduates in the Science domain Austria n.a. Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey % of total number of graduates Austria n.a. Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey Source: Own elaboration based on OECD (2011) Subdomain structure For the six DEHEMS countries, the shares of graduates of the Science domain broken down by subdomains are shown on Figure The subdomain structure of the Science domain is diversified among countries under scrutiny. In Poland and Austria the domain structure is highly biased towards Computing, with shares reaching 50% of totals for the domain. The structure of the domain in Italy is, on the other hand, strongly biased towards the Life Sciences subdomain (48.7% of all domain graduates). Turkey and Germany have a more balanced structure of the subdomains. 220

222 Percent of answers Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Figure 5.41: Structure of the Science domain graduates broken down by subdomains 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% Computing (ISC 48) Mathematics and statistics (ISC 46) Physical sciences (ISC 44) Life sciences (ISC 42) 0% Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey Country Source: Own elaboration based on OECD (2011). Note: Last available data for Austria for Gender Generally, in the total population of graduates (across all domains) we can observe a modest extent of female domination, except for Turkey (where the share of women in the total graduate population is below 50%). Figure 5.42 presents the degree of feminisation of the Science domain broken down by subdomains for the six DEHEMS countries. A specific feature of the domain of Science is that it exhibits male domination. This is especially visible in the subdomain of Computing. The only exception to this characteristic is Italy, with a share of women in Science graduates of 52.8%. This is a consequence of the profound domination of the Life Sciences subdomain in Italy, while in the other countries this subdomain constitutes a much smaller share of graduates. The lowest share of female graduates is observed in Austria only 33.1%. The diversification of feminisation rates across subdomains is also shown in the same graph. 221

223 Total over all fields of study Science (ISC 400) Life sciences (ISC 42) Physical sciences (ISC 44) Mathematics and statistics (ISC 46) Computing (ISC 48) Percent of answers Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Figure 5.42: Degree of feminization of the Science domain Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey Source: Own elaboration based on OECD (2011). Note: Last available data for Austria for Field of study Family background Students from the Science domain are generally characterised by a higher share of those whose parents were also well educated. This means a relatively high level of replication of education patterns. There are, however, some country differences. In Poland, Slovenia and Turkey this transgenerational education replication is even stronger than the average (see Table 5.37). Table 5.37: Highest education of father and mother by country for graduates of the Science domain(in percent) ISCED ISCED ISCED Total Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey Total Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. Most graduates in the Science domain live with partners, are starting their own families (see Table 5.38). However, there are countries like Turkey and Italy where the shares of those living with their parents are relatively high. In Austria and Germany there are large shares of graduates living alone. 222

224 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Table 5.38: Graduates of Science domain by family background (in percent) Living with Living Living with parents alone partner Total Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey Total Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data International students Table 5.39 shows the distribution of international and foreign students in tertiary programmes by field of education. In all six DEHEMS countries, the Science domain exhibits a relatively low level of internationalisation. In Germany, the Science domain has the highest share of international/foreign students among all six DEHEMS countries, where it reaches 16.4%. On the other hand, in Poland and Italy it is just 4.8% and 5.4%, respectively. Table 5.39: Distribution of international/foreign students by field of study (in percent) Science Health and welfare Humanities, arts and education Social sciences, business and Services law Austria Germany 1, Italy 1, Poland Slovenia Turkey Source: Education at a Glance 2011: OECD Indicators - OECD Notes: 1 - Excludes tertiary-type B programmes; 2 - Year of reference Engineering, manufacturing and construction PhD graduates The numbers of PhD graduates in the Science domain in absolute and relative terms (related to the number of tertiary graduates in the same field) are shown in Table 5.40 below. We can see that there are quite important differences among the six DEHEMS countries with respect to this characteristic. The smallest ratio of PhD graduates to tertiary graduates is observed in Poland at only around 2.2% and Turkey at 2.8%. The Science domain of study in both countries is not very popular among those who plan advanced research careers. On the other extreme, we have Slovenia with a ratio reaching 22.4%, meaning that nearly every fourth graduate of the field is successfully finishing PhD studies. Austria, Germany and Italy have comparable ratios of around 10-11%. It is also worth noting that in Germany this ratio dramatically decreased over the last 5 years in the period under study from 18% in 2005 to 10.5% in This is howev- 223

225 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates er a result of a dynamic increase in the number of tertiary graduates since the number of PhD graduates also slightly increased in nominal terms. Table 5.40: Number of Ph.D. graduates in the Science domain (in percent) Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey % of tertiary graduates Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey Source: Own elaboration based on OECD (2011) Study conditions and provisions Study programmes in the four study subdomains in Science are offered by different types of HEIs, starting from general universities, through specialised universities (technological universities) and narrowly profiled higher education institutions. The number of programmes offered differs from country to country, depending on the size of the education system and number of higher education institutions. In Slovenia, 8 programmes are offered in Life Sciences, 4 in physical science, 3 in mathematics and statistics and 3 in computing. Programmes are offered by 5 HEIs (10 different units and faculties). In Austria, there are more than 134 different study programmes in Science. They are offered by 9 public universities, 16 universities of applied sciences and 2 private universities or institutions. In Turkey there are 13 programmes in all fields, offered by 89 science and letters faculties and 8 science faculties. In Italy there are 43 HEIs offering programmes within the ISCED 4 field of education. Programmes are mainly taught by faculties of mathematics, physics and natural science. With regard to some study areas, such as chemistry, faculties of chemistry administer programmes, whilst biology study area programmes are often jointly administered by faculties of mathematics, medicine, engineering, depending on the study emphasis. Statistics programmes are administered by five faculties of statistics or by faculties of business and economics and political science. In Germany, there are around 2,050 study programmes in the professional domain of Science. The highest number (611) was seen in the study field computer sciences. The number of offered study programmes in the other study fields (biology, mathematics, physics, chemistry and geosciences) is similar (ranging from ). There were no data available for study programmes in the field of environmental sciences. In Poland, 299 programmes are offered in the field of Science by 148 HEIs. More than one-third of the total number involves programmes in the subdomain of Computing (ISC 480). A characteristic feature of the Polish system is that more recently joint programmes have emerged, combining the programme contents of different fields (mathematics and economics, medical physics). The institutions offering programmes in the field of Science are mainly public universities with the exception of the Computing subdomain, which is offered by private HEIs as well (covering almost 50% of the student population). 224

226 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project As for the programme content, bachelor s programmes mainly serve the purpose of imparting broad knowledge. Although students may choose electives and specialisations, they are usually not intended to give any genuine expertise. Master s programmes, in contrast, are usually highly specialised. A significant distinction may be made when looking at the type of institution offering the programme, i.e. whether it is a university with a more academic approach or a university of applied sciences, which usually pursues a strategy of vocational orientation. This is a very important distinction particularly in the computing subdomain. As for the programme characteristics, the key data source is the REFLEX/HEGESCO database containing information on graduates assessment of their study programme. Comparing to other study domains (Table 5.41), Science is characterised by a relatively high average assessment of the role of research projects (the highest average score among all domains) and an assessment of the programme as academically prestigious (similar to engineering, but less than medicine). At the same time, it is described by the graduates as not being well known to employers and characterised by a lower than average extent of the use of multiple-choice exams, oral presentations and group assignments (the lowest average score in all three characteristics among all the domains). There are also large differences among particular countries in the characteristics of higher education in the domain of Science. Table 5.41: Average score of the assessments of study programmes characteristics and teaching and learning modes in Science domain (mean of possible answers ranged from 1 to 5- see REFLEX/HEGESCO questionnaire) Non-DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Extent in which the following characteristic was emphasized in the study programme: Multiple choice exams Oral presentations Written assignments Problem based learning Teacher as the main source of information Theories and paradigms Research Project Group assignments Lectures Academically prestigious programme Employers familiar with the content of the programme To what extent has your study programme been a good basis for: Personal development Performing your current work tasks Starting work Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data. 225

227 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates The most noteworthy results are: - the incidence of multiple-choice exams with Poland well above the average (140% of the average score) and Germany, Austria and Slovenia well below the average; - the incidence of oral presentations in Italy, Germany and Austria it is significantly higher than the average incidence in other countries; - use of research projects as a teaching tool it is particularly low in Poland and Slovenia, while well above the average in Turkey; - the incidence of group assignments, which are widely used in Poland but much less frequently (than average) in Slovenia, Italy and Turkey; and - perception of the programme in terms of its utility from the graduates point of view (programme quality in terms personal development, basis for performing the graduate s current work tasks, basis for starting work, academic prestige, employers familiarity with the programme), which is particularly highly assessed by Austrian graduates Impact of the Bologna Process The Bologna Process aims to facilitate students mobility by providing common tools (such as the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) and the Diploma Supplement) to ensure that periods of study abroad are recognised. These tools are used to promote transparency in the emerging European Higher Education Area by allowing degree programmes and qualifications awarded in one country to be understood in another. Bologna Process actions include several tools aimed at achieving the goal of creating the European Higher Education Area. In the domain of Science many actions are being undertaken to reach the Bologna Process goals. All DEHEMS countries have reported advances in implementation of the 3-cycle study system with ECTS. None of the programmes offered within the domain has been exempted from this reform. However, in all countries a new system has been introduced as a parallel system to an earlier degree (with a transition period). European universities are currently in the implementation phase, and an increasing number of graduates has now been awarded these new degrees. As for the DEHEMS countries, the current situation is illustrated in Table The share of BA students in the field of Science in the DEHEMS countries varies from 68.1% in Italy to 94.1% in Germany (2009). In most countries (with the exception of Austria), it is higher in Science than in the total student population. 226

228 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Table 5.42: Students in the domain of Science by type of degree*(in percent) Field of education BA MA Total BA MA Total Austria 1 Science Total Germany Science Total Italy 2 Science Total Poland Science Total Slovenia Science Total Turkey Science Total Source: Own elaboration based on OECD (2011). Note: 1 Last available data for Austria for 2008; 2 Last available data for Italy for * the distribution of types of degrees applies only for students in the three-cycle study system. As for student mobility, the domain of Science is characterised by relatively high student mobility in the period after graduation both related to work and to further studies. Compared to the average of all study fields, it is particularly high in Austria, Poland and Slovenia. Only in Turkey are Science graduates less prone to leave their country for work or study purposes. On the other hand, Science graduates there report lower international mobility during the study process. Table 5.43: Students mobility in the domain of Science After graduation for work After graduation for study During study for work During study for study Science Total Science Total Science Total Science Total (%) (%) Ratio (%) (%) Ratio (%) (%) Ratio (%) (%) Ratio Austria Germany Italy Poland Slovenia Turkey Total Source: Own elaboration based on REFLEX/HEGESCO data Transition to employment and characteristics of the first job This subchapter describes the transition to the labour market of graduates of the Science domain and the characteristics of their first job in the six DEHEMS countries. The aim of this chapter is to show the characteristics of the transition to the labour market, the search duration for the first job, as well as the means and modes of the job search. Secondly, the characteristics of the first job will be analysed: sectors and occupations, ownership, firm size etc. A very important part will be devoted to a study of the determinants 227

229 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates of labour market success. Labour market success as such can be understood and defined in many different ways, therefore the adopted procedures, definitions and analytical tools will be described in the relevant subchapter. Lastly, all the analyses presented in this chapter will be based on the REFLEX and HEGESCO projects statistical data supplemented with Eurostat Labour Force Survey data where needed and involve comparisons between the six DEHEMS countries and, where appropriate, the relationship with other domains will be presented Search duration for first jobs Statistical data from the REFLEX and HEGESCO projects reveal interesting differences among the countries with respect to search duration. In the table below, we present various characteristics of the distribution of the search duration. The bottom part of the table shows the respective value for the domain of Science divided by the value for all domains. For graduates of Science for all six DEHEMS countries, the average search duration is around 4.8 months. The distribution is highly skewed as the median is only 2 months. Table 5.44: Search duration of graduates in the field of Science DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Mean (months) Standard deviation Science/All domains (ratio) Mean (ratio) Standard deviation Source: Own calculations based on HEGESCO and REFLEX data. Note: Search duration was calculated on the basis of the question How many months did you search before you obtained this employment (after graduation)? from REFLEX/HEGESCO questionnaire. Mean is an average of months, SD is standard deviation. It also appears that Science graduates devote on average 20.3% more time to finding their first job compared to graduates from all domains. This may be a signal of a more visible structural problem of matching in this domain. Of all DEHEMS countries, there are two, namely Italy and Slovenia whose average times are not too different from the DEHEMS average while, Austria, Germany and especially Poland have significantly shorter search durations and, on the other extreme, we observe Turkey with an average duration of 10 months. Based on these figures, it could be argued that the most profound matching problem is observed in the case of Turkish graduates. If we look at the bottom of the table, we see how Science graduates are doing compared to all domains of study. Only in two of the DEHEMS countries are search durations much higher for graduates of Science, namely for Italy and Turkey. The statistics for the EUwide comparison show that it takes on average 28.7% longer for Science graduates than all graduates to find their first jobs. Italy is an example where the Science graduate situation is relatively speaking the worst with respect to search duration Search methods The most successful job search methods in the DEHEMS countries for the graduates of Science were (according to the REFLEX and HEGESCO data): 228

230 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project - Contacted an employer on own initiative. For all DEHEMS countries, this was the most popular way of finding a job, as reported by 22% of graduates. The are some country specifics. For Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Turkey, the shares were similar (between 19% and 24%), while for Austria this method was selected by 16% of graduates and in Poland it reached almost 46% of graduates. Only in Turkey and Italy was this method not at the top of the ranking. - Through family, friends or acquaintances. For all DEHEMS countries this was the second most popular method with a share of 17%. The highest shares were observed in Turkey with 27,9% and in Italy with 21.4%. The lowest shares of this method were observed for Germany 7.1% and Slovenia 11.3%. - Through an advertisement in a newspaper. The average for DEHEMS countries was 10.6%. The highest share was observed for Austria (16%) and the lowest for Italy (5.8%). - Approached by an employer. The average for DEHEMS countries was 10.4%. The biggest share was observed in Austria (17.7%) while in contrast for Poland this method was indicated by just 1.4% of graduates. - Through the help of the higher education institution. The average for DEHEMS countries was 9.7%. Most DEHEMS countries lie in the range of 8 12%, with the exception of Poland with only 1.4% of graduates reporting this method. This indicates that in Poland the role of the higher education institution as an intermediary between the education system and employment has not been established or it does not function in a proper way. 229

231 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Table 5.45: Way of finding work by graduates in the field of Science DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Through advertisement in newspaper Through public empl. ag Through private empl. ag Through internet Contacted employer on own initiative Approached by employer Through work placement during higher education Through family, friends or acquaintances Through help of higher education institution Set up my own business Other Through previous work Total Science/All domains (ratio) Through advertisement in newspaper Through public empl. ag Through private empl. ag Through internet Contacted employer on own initiative Approached by employer Through work placement during higher education Through family, friends or acquaintances Through help of higher education institution Set up my own business Other Through previous work Total Source: Own calculations based on HEGESCO and REFLEX data. Note: Each number in the top part of the table shows share of a given way of finding job in the population of graduates in employment they sum up to 100. In the bottom part is a ratio of a share for science to the general population showing specifics of channels of finding job for science domain graduates. Again, if we look at the bottom of this table we can see the relative importance of a given search method for the graduates of Science compared to all study domains. The main conclusions are the following. The methods which are relatively the least popular for Science are: advertisements in a newspaper (exception: 230

232 TR HU SI LT UK IT FR BE SP DE PL FI NL CZ EE PT AT NO TOTAL Per cent of answers Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Turkey), public employment agencies (exception: Poland), private employment agencies, contact with an employer on one s own initiative (exceptions: Poland, Slovenia, Turkey), approach by an employer (exceptions: Austria and Germany), own business. Relatively more popular methods were: the Internet (exception: Poland), work placement during higher education (exceptions: Germany and Turkey), help of the higher education institution (exception: Poland) Education as a basis for starting work When we consider the answers to the question: To what extent has your study programme been a good basis for starting work?'' we learn how the graduates perceived their study programme as a basis for starting work. This information can be interpreted in terms of matching the qualifications offered by graduates (and gained during the study process) with those needed by employers. Figure 5.43: Study programme as a basis for starting work, by country (in percent) Country Question I1a (Hegesco), I1a (Reflex): To what extent has your study programme been a good basis for starting work. Responses 4 and 5 on a scale of answers from 1 = ''Not at all'' to 5 = ''To a very high extent''. Source: Own calculations based on HEGESCO and REFLEX data. The above figure shows the percentages of answers to the above question using the statements to a high or very high extent. The average share of this kind of answer for all European countries was 54%. Germany and Poland are not too different from the average with 53% and 57%, respectively. The highest share of the DEHEMS countries is observed in Austria with 76%, while the lowest is in Turkey with just 35%. Slovenia also has a fairly low figure of 44%. Besides that, it can also be seen that the share of this answer is a little lower for the Science domain as compared to other domains. Nevertheless, in Slovenia it is 33% higher than the average for all domains, in Austria it is 20.5% higher and in Poland it is 7.4% higher. For Turkey, which has the smallest share of strongly positive answers, this share is also 4.7% lower than the national average for all domains. It can be argued then that probably in Turkey and less so in Slovenia there are some problems in the dimension of coordinating HE programmes in line with employers expectations and their needs. Without taking into account workplace sector and occupation, it is hard, however, to justify such a statement. 231

233 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Table 5.46: Study programme as a basis for starting work: science vs. all domains DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Science (%) All domains (%) Science/All domains (ratio) Source: Own calculations based on HEGESCO and REFLEX data Characteristics of the first job Using the REFLEX and HEGESCO data, the distribution of occupations in the first job was calculated on the basis of the International Standard Classification of Occupations at the 2-digit level. For all DEHEMS countries, the most commonly existing occupation is the group Physical, mathematical and engineering science professionals with a share of 38.7%. This group is the most important for all DEHEMS countries with the exception of Poland and Turkey. The second most common occupation group is Teaching professionals with a share of 25.8%. This group has an especially important share in the employment of Science graduates in Poland (43.8%) and Turkey (35.7%). An important exception is Austria, where the share of this occupational group is only 8.5%. 232

234 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project Table 5.47: Occupations of Science graduates, ISCO 2-digit level (in percent) DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Armed forces Legislators and senior officials Corporate managers Managers of small enterprises Professionals Physical, mathematical and engineering science professionals Life science and health professionals Teaching professionals Other professionals Technicians and associate professionals Physical and engineering science associate professionals Life science and health associate professionals Teaching associate professionals Other associate professionals Other Total Source: Own calculations based on HEGESCO and REFLEX data. Unfortunately, the data from the REFLEX and HEGESCO projects do not allow us to compare the distributions of graduates between economic and ownership sectors for all DEHEMS countries. Those characteristics are only available for Germany, Italy and Austria. For all countries this breakdown is only possible for the current job and not for the first job of a graduate. A slight majority (52.3%) of Science graduates in all DEHEMS countries has/had a fixed-term contract in their first jobs. This is a 12.9% higher share than for all domains of study, which indicates that in the Science domain fixed-term contracts are relatively more popular. This overrepresentation is mostly visible in Turkey (by 70.6%) but in Austria we actually encounter the reverse situation with fixed-term contracts in Science being relatively less popular than in all other domains. The highest shares of fixed-term contracts in first jobs are observed in Italy and Poland (with the figure reaching over 65%), while in Turkey and Austria they amount only to one-third of the graduates. 233

235 Review of Professional Domains and Analysis of Professional Success of the Graduates Table 5.48: Type of contract in the first job: science vs. all domains DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Unlimited (%) Fixed-term (%) Other (%) Science/All domains (ratio) Unlimited Fixed-term Other Source: Own calculations based on HEGESCO and REFLEX data. The average number of hours worked per week in the first job by graduates of Science programmes for all DEHEMS countries is Slovenian and Turkish graduates tend to work a few hours more, while German and Polish significantly less. The relatively small number of hours worked in Poland can be attributed to the fact that the majority of graduates find their jobs as Teaching professionals. In all the DEHEMS countries, with the exception of Austria and Slovenia, graduates of Science programmes tend to work fewer hours per week than other graduates in their countries. Table 5.49: Hours of work per week in the first job: science vs. all domains DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Mean (hours) SD Science/All domains Mean (ratio) SD Source: Own calculations based on HEGESCO and REFLEX data. Note: SD standard deviation. Earnings were calculated as gross hourly earnings in the first job corrected for purchasing power parity. The table below summarises the distribution of earnings for the DEHEMS countries Science graduates, and the bottom part shows the ratio of a given statistic to the value for all study domains. Table 5.50: Distribution of gross hourly earnings in the first job: science vs. all domains DEHEMS AT DE IT PL SI TR Other Total Mean ( ) SD Science/All domains Mean (ratio) SD Note: SD standard deviation Source: Own calculations based on HEGESCO and REFLEX data. The average hourly wage for all DEHEMS countries is EUR 12,10 for the Science graduates and is comparable to all domains graduates. There are, however, some interesting country differences. The highest earnings are observed in Germany, while the lowest are seen in Turkey and Poland. It is also interesting 234

236 Employability of Graduates and Higher Education Management Systems: Final report of DEHEMS project that in all countries except Slovenia and Turkey graduates of Science programmes earn a little more than all the domain average. The highest, 7%, difference is observed in Austria, then 4.6% in Germany. Poland and Italy have nearly 2.5% higher average hourly wages for graduates of Science, while in Slovenia they are 6.4% lower. Kernel density estimates of the gross hourly wage distribution broken down by countries are shown in the graph below: Figure 5.44: Distribution of gross hourly wages (by countries, adjusted for PPP) Source: own elaboration based on the HEGESCO and REFLEX data. An interesting aspect of the first job is the extent to which it can utilise the skills and knowledge graduates gained in the education process. The figure and table below show the percentages of graduates who assess their first job as utilising their knowledge and skill to a high or a very high extent. The average share of Science graduates indicating this statement for all the DEHEMS countries is 70.2%. There are no big differences in this share for all other domains. There are however some country differences. The highest share of strongly positive answers is observed for Austria (75.5%), while the lowest is for Poland (60.7%). The divergence between Science and all other domains is also the highest in Poland, where strongly positive answers for other domains are observed in 10% or more cases. 235